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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


I 


SPRINGS,  STREAMS,  AND   SPAS 
OF   LONDON 


I 


CORN  HILL    VVMV   (1800). 
After  a  print  in  the  Guildhall  Art  Collections. 


Frontispiece. 


SPRINGS,    STREAMS 

AND  SPAS  OF  LONDON 

HISTORY     AND    ASSOCIATIONS 


By   ALFRED   STANLEY    FOORD 


WITH  TWENTY-SEVEN 
ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW    YORK 

FREDERICK   A.   STOKES   COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


{All  rights  reserved.) 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction  .  .  .  .  .  .  .15 

PART    I 

STREAMS  AND  SPAS  NORTH  OF 
THE   THAMES 

CHAPTER  I 
The  Wallbrook,  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent      .    25 

Early  water-supply  —  Walebroc  —  Wallbrook — Barge 
Yard,  Bucklersbury — Dour  or  Dowgate — Tokenhouse 
Yard — Remains  of  tan-pits — Finsbury — Subterranean 
aqueduct  noticed  by  Mr.  Roach  Smith — Blomfield 
Street — All  Hallows  on  the  Wall — Bethlehem  Hospital 
— Tower  Royal  Street  and  Cloak  Lane — Channel  of  the 
Wallbrook — Roman  Wall  of  London  in  relation  to  the 
Wallbrook — Bank  of  England  :  stream  first  reached  in 
digging  a  foundation  for  the  original  building — Dow- 
gate Hill — Churches  on  banks  of  the  Wallbrook :  St. 
Mildred's,  Poultry  ;  St.  Stephen's,  Wallbrook  ;  St.  John 
the  Baptist  upon  Wallbrook — Halls  of  the  Livery 
Companies  along  or  near  its  banks — Cutlers',  Dyers', 
Joiners',  and  Innholders'  Halls — Bridges  over  the 
Wallbrook — National  Safe  Deposit  :  excavations  on 
its  site  —  Stocks  Market  —  Langbourne  Stream  — 
Sharebourne. 

5 


Contents 

CHAPTER   II 

PAGE 

The  Holebourne  or  Fleet,  Tybourne,  Westbourne, 

AND  Serpentine       .  .  .  .  .40 

Fleet  River— Ditch— Bridge— Turnmill  Brook— River 
of  Wells — Holebourne  (or  Fleet)  :  its  source  and 
direction  traced — Blemund's  Ditch — Tybourne  Brook  : 
its  course  described — Marylebone  Lane  twice  crossed 
by  it— Formed  a  delta  at  Thorney  Island,  West- 
minster —  Kilburn  Stream,  an  affluent  of  the 
Westbourne  —  Aye  or  Eye  Brook — Eia  Estate — 
Baysw^ater  Brook,  a  name  applied  to  the  Westbourne 
— Course  of  the  stream  defined — Serpentine  :  formed 
at  the  instigation  of  Queen  Caroline — Old  maps  of 
Middlesex. 

CHAPTER   III 
Holy  Wells  and  Well  Worship  .  .  .53 

Holy  wells — Enactments  against  offerings  at  springs 
in  Saxon  times — Survival  of  superstitions  relating  to 
them — Flower  -  dressing  of  wells  :  a  custom  still 
observed  at  Tissington  in  Derbyshire — Offerings  of 
coins — Holy  wells  in  London. 


CHAPTER   IV 
Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas     .  .    58 

St.  Bride's  Well — Milton's  lodgings  in  the  churchyard 
— Clement's  Well — Stow's  evidence  as  to  its  position 
and  identification — Allusions  to  it  by  later  writers — 
Evidence  of  the  Ordnance  Survey  maps — Holy  Well, 
Strand — Remarks  of  various  observers  regarding  its 
true  position — Gray's  Inn  Lane — Bagnigge  House  and 
Wells — Origin  of  the  name — Nell  Gwynne  at  Bagnigge 
House — Properties  of  the  water — Battle  Bridge — 
Black  Mary's  Hole — St.  Chad's  Well :  its  many  vicissi- 
tudes— Pancras  Wells  and  garden — Visit  of  Pepys 
thereto — Holt  Waters — Sadler's  Music  House  and 
Wells — Sadler  succeeded  by  Miles  and  Forcer — The 
Theatre  and  notable  performers — It  sinks  to  a  low- 

6 


Contents 

PAGE 

type  music-hall — Islington  Spa,  or  New  Tunbridge 
Wells — At  one  time  a  fashionable  resort — The  pro- 
prietor's house — Rosebery  Avenue — London  Spaw — 
New  Wells  near  the  latter — Priory  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem — Clerks'  Well — Miracle  or  Mystery  Plays 
performed  there — St.  Mary's  Nunnery,  Clerkenwell — 
Hockley  in  the  Hole — Skinners'  Well — Fagswell — 
Godewell— Loder's  Well— Radwell— Crowder's  Well— 
Monkswell — St.  Agnes  le  Clere — Well  or  pool — Mineral 
Baths — Perilous  Pond,  later  called  Peerless  Pool — 
Swimming  -  bath  and  fishing  -  pond — The  former  ' 
survived  to  nineteenth  century. 

CHAPTER  V 
North  and  East  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas  .  115 

Holywell,  Shoreditch — Conventual  House  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist  at  Haliwell — Position  of  the  well  discussed 
— Hoxton  ''Balsamic  Wells'' — Dr.  Byfield's  account  of 
them  in  1687 — Shadwell — Sun  Tavern  Fields  :  mineral 
spring — Postern  Waters,  Tower  Hill — Hackney — Its 
Wells  and  Springs — Pig  or  Pyke  Well — Churchfield 
Well— Shacklewell— Wells  at  Tottenham— Offertory 
or  Cell  of  St.  Eloy — Hermitage  and  Chapel  of  St.  Anne 
—Bishop's  Well  — Well  in  Spotton's  Wood— St. 
Dunstan's  Well — Bruce  Castle — Woodford  Wells  ;  a 
mineral  spring  near  the  ''  Horse  and  Groom" — Chig- 
well — Derivation  of  the  name — Purgative  spring  in 
Chigwell  Row — Muswell  Hill — Two  ancient  wells, 
differing  in  quaUty. 

CHAPTER  VI 

North-West  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas         .  137 

Hampstead  —  Geological  features  described  —  Chaly- 
beate wells — The  Assembly  Rooms  in  Wells  Walk ; 
celebrities  who  frequented  them — Wells  Charity  Estate 
and  Baptist  Noel,  Earl  of  Gainsborough — Mr.  Good- 
win's discovery  of  a  medicinal  spring  near  Pond  Street 
— Analysis  of  the  Wells  Walk  spring — Barnet  Wells 

7 


Contents 

PAGE 

— Purgative  spring  —  Visited  by  Pepys  —  Lysons' 
mention  of  it — Chalybeate  spring  at  Northaw — Trick 
of  practical  jokers — Acton  Wells — An  attractive  resort 
in  Queen  Anne's  reign — Kilburn  Wells  and  Priory — 
History  of  the  latter — Pleasure  gardens  attached  to 
the  Wells — Analyses  of  the  v;raters. 


CHAPTER   Vn 

West  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas      .        .        .  165 

Marylebone  Gardens  and  medicinal  spring — Knovi^n 
as  Marybone  Spa — Mentioned  in  J.  T.  Smith's  ''  Book 
for  a  Rainy  Day" — Pov^^is  Wells  in  Lamb's  Conduit 
Fields — Assemblies  for  dancing  held  in  Long  Room — 
Kensington  Wells— St.  Govor's  Well— St.  Agnes'  Well 
of  medicinal  water — Frequented  chiefly  by  the  lov^^er 
orders — Medicinal  spring  at  Earl's  Court  mentioned  by 
Faulkner. 

CHAPTER  Vni 

Mineral  Springs  as  Remedial  Agents         .  .  173 

Thermal  v^^aters  :  their  temperature,  w^hence  derived — 
the  mineral  matter  they  contain — British  and  foreign 
waters  compared — Analysis  in  its  application  to  mineral 
waters  very  imperfectly  understood  before  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

PART  II 

STREAMS  AND   SPAS  SOUTH  OF 
THE    THAMES 

CHAPTER   I 

The  Effra,  Falcon  Brook,  and  Neckinger  .  181 

South  London  :  physical  features — Effra  River — John 
Aubrey  makes  no  mention  of  it — Brayley's  allusion  to 
it — Tracing  of  its  entire  course — Branch  of  the  Effra 

8 


Contents 

PAGE 

near  Kennington  Church — Another  arm  of  the  Effra 
— Falcon  Brook — The  Neckinger  Stream  :  its  rise  and 
course — Navigable  for  small  craft — Tanneries  and  mills 
on  its  banks — St.  Saviour's  Dock. 


CHAPTER   II 

South  London  Spas  and  Wells       .  .  .  190 

Bermondsey  Spa — Opened  by  an  artist,  Thomas  Keyse 
— Mr.  William  Herbert,  one  of  the  singers  engaged 
here  ;  he  afterwards  became  first  librarian  of  the  Guild- 
hall Library — Gallery  of  Paintings  by  Keyse — Picture 
model  of  siege  of  Gibraltar — Lambeth  Wells — Dancing 
and  musical  entertainments — Water  esteemed  service- 
able in  disorders  of  the  eyes — "  Dog  and  Duck,"  other- 
wise St.  George's  Spa — Its  career  under  Hedger — Old 
stone  sign  of  the  inn  let  into  wall  of  Bethlehem  Hos- 
pital— Ladywell — Two  wells  here  :  one  medicinal — 
Coping-stones  preserved  and  form  the  rim  of  a  drinking 
fountain  at  the  Ladywell  PubHc  Baths — Shooter's  Hill 
— Its  height  and  structure — John  Evelyn  drinks  the 
waters  of  the  mineral  spring  here — Dipping  Well  on 
the  top  of  the  hill. 


CHAPTER   III 

Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London       .  207 

Camberwell — Evelyn's  record  of  a  visit — Different 
theories  about  the  origin  of  the  name — Lysons,  Bray, 
Salmon,  and  Allport — Well  at  Dr.  Lettsom's  Villa  at 
Grove  Hill — Milkwell  Manor — Effects  of  an  iron  spring 
upon  the  water  in  the  public  baths  in  the  Old  Kent 
Road — Dulwich  Wells — Manor  of  Dulwich  presented 
to  the  Priory  of  Bermondsey  by  Henry  I. — Bew's  Corner 
— Grove  Tavern — The  sinking  of  a  well  in  the  grounds 
by  the  proprietor  Cox  leads  to  discovery  of  a  purging 
water — John  Martyn  experimented  on  the  water,  which 
was  supplied  to  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital — Syden- 
ham Wells — Evelyn,  an  early  visitor  here — Called  also 

9 


Contents 

PAGB 

Dulwich  Wells — ^John  Peter,  a  physician,  writes  the 
first  detailed  account  of  Sydenham  Wells — Wells 
Cottage  in  Wells  Road — George  III.'s  visit  to  the  cot- 
tage— Thomas  Campbell's  house  at  Sydenham — Beulah 
Spa — Beauty  of  its  situation — Not  known  when  or  how 
the  mineral  spring  was  discovered — Described  by  Dr. 
Weatherhead — Analysis  of  the  water  by  Professor 
Faraday — Entertainments  recorded — Mr.  J.  Corbet 
Anderson  on  the  spa  and  well  open  when  he  wrote — 
Mineral  spring  at  Biggin  Hill — Analysis  of  the  water — 
Streatham  Wells — First  account  of  them  by  Aubrey — 
Circumstances  of  their  discovery — Well  House,  now 
The  Rookery — Closing  of  the  old  spring  and  opening  of 
another  on  Lime  Common — Miss  Priscilla  Wakefield 
tastes  the  water — Analysis  of  the  water  made  by 
Messrs.  Redwood  and  de  Hailes  in  1895. 


CHAPTER   IV 

Wells  at  Richmond  and  East  Sheen        .  .  238 

Richmond  Wells — Saline  spring — Noticed  by  Dr. 
Benjamin  Allen  in  1699 — House  of  entertainment — 
Balls  and  concerts  advertised — Dissipated  company  at 
the  Wells — Raffling  and  card-playing — The  place 
eventually  purchased  by  the  Misses  Houblon — Well 
at  East  Sheen,  adjoining  Palewell  Park. 


PART  III 

CONDUIT  SYSTEM  OF    WATER-SUPPLY 

CHAPTER  I 
The  London  Basin,  Shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits    .  247 

Geology  of  the  London  Basin — Tyburn  Conduit — 
Population  of  London — Great  Conduit  in  Chepe — Pay 
of  workmen — Little  Conduit — Conduit  at  Stocks 
Market — The  Standard  opposite  the  end  of  Honey 
Lane — John    Lydgate — Pageants — Catherine    of  Ara- 

10 


Contents 

gon's  state  entry  into  London — The  Tonne,  or  Tun, 
upon  Cornhill — Stow's  explanation  of  the  name — 
Charterhouse,  provided  its  own  water-supply — Con- 
duits at  London  Wall,  Coleman  Street,  Bishopsgate. 


CHAPTER   II 
Conduits  without  the  City 264 

The  White  Conduit — Supphed  water  to  the  Carthusian 
Friars — Fleet  Street — Its  water-supply — Fleet  Street 
Standard — Cistern  made  to  receive  its  overflow — 
Thames  water  used  by  Londoners — Springs  in  Pad- 
dington  granted  by  the  Abbot  of  Westminster  to  the 
Mayor  and  citizens  of  London — Water  from  springs 
at  Hackney — Banqueting  House  on  the  site  of  Strat- 
ford Place,  with  cisterns  in  the  basement — Lamb's 
Conduit — References  to  the  Conduits  in  the  Letter 
Books — Keepers  or  wardens  to  look  after  them — 
Measures  taken  to  restrain  keepers  of  brew-houses  and 
others  from  making  ale  with  the  water  from  the 
Conduits — Tynes  and  tankards  used  for  conveying 
water — Grants  of  Quills — The  London  Waterbearers — 
Their  petition — Waterbearers'  Hall — List  of  Conduits 
removed — The  Standard  in  Cornhill  a  point  of 
measurement  for  distances  from  the  City — Explanation 
of  a  complete  service  on  the  Conduit  System. 

CHAPTER   III 

Conduits    without    the    City,     continued  —  London 

Bridge  Water  Works 283 

Bayswater  or  Roundhead  Conduit — Its  position  and 
course  indicated  —  Remarks  by  Matthews  in 
"  Hydraulia '' — Mr.  Morley  Davies  on  the  "  Round- 
head " — Paddington  Conduit  System  transferred  from 
the  City  to  the  Bishop  of  London  and  Trustees  of 
Paddington  Estate — Ancient  Conduit  in  Queen  Square, 
Bloomsbury — Identification  of  the  White  Conduit — 
Conduit  near  Hyde  Park  Corner — Conduit  House  in 
Greenwich  Park — Underground  passages  in  the  Park ; 

II 


Contents 

PAGE 

their  elaborate  construction — Wooden  water-pipes — 
Use  of  tree-trunks  for  water-pipes  abroad — Morice 
and  his  London  Bridge  Water  Works — The  engine 
described — Other  schemes  for  supplying  London  with 
water. 

CHAPTER   IV 

The  New  River — Artesian  Wells  ....  307 

Hugh  Myddelton  and  the  New  River — Appeals  against 
its  construction  by  landowners  and  others — Myddelton 
receives  financial  assistance  from  the  King — And  a  loan 
from  the  Corporation  of  London — Opening  ceremony 
on  Michaelmas  Day,  1613,  described  by  Stow — Mono- 
poly established  to  oblige  consumers  to  use  the  New 
River  Company's  water — Great  value  of  King's  and 
Adventurers'  shares — Transference  of  the  New  River 
Company's  business  to  the  Metropolitan  Water  Board 
— Artesian  Wells. 


APPENDIX 

Shallow  or  Surface  Wells  and  Pumps  of  London     .  325 

Index 343 


12 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


1800  ....  Frontispiece 

After  a  print  in  the  Guildhall  Art  Collections 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

THE   MOUTH   OF  THE   FLEET   RIVER,   CIRCA    1 765  .  .      41 

Guildhall  Art  Collections 

BAGNIGGE   WELLS   GARDENS        .  .  .  .  -73 

Frontispiece  to  the  Sunday  Ramble  {circa  1774),  in  the  Guildhall  Library 

ST.  chad's  well,  showing  the  pump  room  and  house, 

CIRCA  1830  .  .  .  .  .  -74 

Drawn  by  the  Author  from  a  pencil  sketch  in  the  Guildhall  Library 

south-west  view  OF  Sadler's  wells  .  .  .89 

From  a  drawing  by  R.  C.  Andrews,  1792  ;  together  with  a  view  of  an 
earlier  building  ;  both  from  Wilkinson's  '•  Londina  Illustrata  " 

ISLINGTON   SPA  ;   OR   NEW   TUNBRIDGE  WELLS  .  .      92 

View  of  the  Gardens,  Well,  Coffee  House,  &c.,  engraved  by  G.  Bickham, 
jun.,  as  the  headpiece  to  "  The  Charms  of  Dishabille  ;  or,  New  Tunbridge 
Wells,"  a  song  published  in  Bickham's  Musical  Entertainer,  1733 

ISLINGTON   SPA  ;   OR   NEW  TUNBRIDGE   WELLS  .  .      96 

From  a  photograph  of  the  proprietor's  house  in  1907 

HAMPSTEAD   ASSEMBLY   AND    PUMP    ROOMS    IN   WELL   WALK      .    I4I 
The  original  drawing  by  E.  H.  Dixon  bears  no  date,  but  was  probably 
done   before    1725.     Drawn  by  the  author  from   the  reproduction  in 
"  Records  of  Hampstead  "  by  F.  E.  Baines 

HAMPSTEAD   (nEw)   ASSEMBLY    ROOMS    ON    THE    NORTH-WEST 

SIDE   OF  WELL   WALK  .....    I47 

Drawn  by  the  author  from  the  print  by  Chatelaine  of  1745  • 

ACTON   OLD  WELLS,    1795  .....    156 

Drawn  by  the  author  from  the  view  in  Lysons'  "  Environs  of  London," 
Guildhall  Library 

ST.   GOVOR'S  well,   KENSINGTON   GARDEN  .  .  •    I7I 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  19 10 

INTERIOR   OF   THE    "  DOG  AND   DUCK,"    ST.   GEORGE'S   FIELDS, 

1789  .  .  .  .  .  .  .198 

From  a  stipple  engraving,  Guildhall  Art  Collections 

13 


List  of  Illustrations 


• 

• 

226 

• 

• 

237 

FORMERLY 

CALLED 

. 

. 

237 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

THE  OLD   LADY  WELL   (LEWISHAM),    1842  .  .  .    203 

Drawn  by  the  author  from  "  Knight's  Journey  Book  of  England  " 

FOUNTAIN    AT    LADYWELL    BATHS,   CONTAINING    THE    COPING- 
STONES  OF  THE   OLD   LADY  WELL  .  .  .    203 
Drawn  by  the  author  from  a  photograph 

SYDENHAM   WELLS  EARLY   IN  THE   EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY       .   2l8 
Drawn  by  the  author  from  an  old  print  belonging  to  Mr.  J.  T.  Coling 

WELLS   COTTAGE,   SYDENHAM     .  .  .  .  .    2l8 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  1903.    The  well  was  behind  the  palings 
on  the  left  of  the  picture 

BEULAH     SPA,    VIEW    OF     THE    GREAT     LAWN,    WELL    HOUSE, 

REFECTORY,    &C.      ......    222 

Drawn  by  the  author  from  a  wood-engraving  in  the  Illustrated  London 
News,  July  26,  1851 

BEULAH   SPA 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  1903 

STREATHAM   (nEW)   WELLS   HOUSE 

From  a  photograph  taken  about  1902 

"the   ROOKERY,*'   STREATHAM    COMM( 
"  WELL   HOUSE  "     . 

From  a  photograph  taken  about  1900 

STREATHAM   (nEW)   WELLS   HOUSE,    1 83 1  .  .  .   235 

Drawn   by  the  author   from  an   indian-ink  wash  drawing  by   E,  A. 
Tylor,  in  the  Rendle  Collection,  Guildhall  Library 

THE  TUN   UPON   CORNHILL,   CIJ?CA    163O  .  .  .   262 

After  a  print  in  the  Guildhall  Library 

BAYSWATER   CONDUIT      ......    282 

Drawn  by  the  author  from  the  engraving  of  1798  in  the  Guildhall  Library 

CONDUIT-HOUSE   IN   HYDE   PARK  ....    292 

From  an  original  drawing  by  the  author 

CONDUIT-HOUSE    OR   STANDARD   IN   GREENWICH    PARK  .    293 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  1908 

WOODEN   WATER-PIPES  AT   CLERKENWELL         .  .  .   296 

From  a  reproduction  by  Mr.   F.  W.   Reader  of  the  drawing   in  the 
Soane  Museum,  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields 

PUMP    IN    CHURCHYARD    OF    ST.    DUNSTAN-IN-THE-EAST  .    33O 

From  an  original  sketch  by  the  author  in  1909 

Some  of  the  illustrations  in  the  foregoing  list  have  been  copied  from  works 
in  the  Guildhall  Library.  The  author  hereby  desires  to  thank  the  Library 
Committee  for,  kindly  permitting  him  to  reproduce  them.  He  also  takes  this 
opportunity  cf  thanking  the  Editor  of  the  Illustrated  London  "Hevis  for  the  like 
courtesy  in  allowing  him  to  use  the  engraving  of  Beulah  Spa. 

14 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  history  of  the  various  sources  and  means 
whereby  the  City  of  London,  and  the  suburbs 
which  later  grew  up  around  it,  derived  their  water- 
supply,  may  be  found  scattered  through  the  pages 
of  innumerable  books,  pamphlets,  and  magazines,  as 
well  as  in  the  columns  of  newspapers,  ranging  from 
the  seventeenth  century  to  the  present  time,  in  which 
a  variety  of  information  has  been  published,  bearing 
more  or  less  directly  upon  the  subject.  London's 
water-supply  is  a  theme  that  has  been  treated  by 
different  writers  from  very  diverse  points  of  views — 
traditional,  historical,  anecdotal,  and  statistical — but 
in  no  single  volume,  so  far  as  the  writer  can  learn, 
has  any  attempt  hitherto  been  made  to  collect  the 
stray  fragments,  and  to  piece  them  together  so  as 
to  form  something  like  a  consecutive  story.  The 
chief  aim  of  the  present  compilation  has  therefore 
been  in  the  direction  of  carrying  out  this  idea  of 
continuity  of  narration,  by  sketching  the  gradual  pro- 
gress effected  in  the  means  of  water-supply,  from 
the  crude  methods  of  the  earlier  denizens  of  London, 
when  they  depended  for  their  requirements  upon 
streams  and  shallow  wells,  down  to  the  more  matured 
system  of  a  house-to-house  service. 

15 


Introduction 

A  great  many  volumes  upon  London  have  been 
consulted — from  FitzStephen  and  Stow,  to  Maitland 
and  Besant.  Maps  and  plans  have  also  proved 
invaluable  in  their  record  of  the  successive  stages  in 
the  annals  of  the  Great  City's  water-supply  :  these 
have  been  examined  and  compared  with  later  and 
contemporary  plans,  including  the  publications  of  the 
Ordnance  Survey.  The  Grace  collection  ^  of  maps 
and  views  of  London  is  a  veritable  mine  of  information 
to  the  student  of  the  capital  :  the  maps,  some  of  which 
are  rare  and  unique,  form  a  continuous  series  from 
1560  to  1859  ;  many  of  the  drawings  have  an  artistic 
as  well  as  an  antiquarian  interest,  and  often  inciden- 
tally illustrate  bygone  manners  and  customs.  No  one 
writing  about  London  can  dispense  with  so  rich  a 
depository. 

The  very  nature  of  the  subject  dealt  with  in  the 
following  pages  has  necessitated  frequent  quotations 
from  the  works  of  the  earlier  writers,  many  of  whom 
lived  in  the  times  they  treat  of ;  the  people,  places,  and 
scenes  which  they  depict  thus  coming  under  their  own 
observation.  In  this  respect  they  enjoyed  an  im- 
measurable advantage  over  those  who,  after  a  lapse  of 
years  and  with  impressions  faded,  have  attempted,  as 
it  were,  to  repeople  a  world,  and  to  reconstruct  scenes 
that  have  long  passed  out  of  existence.  But  the 
present-day  writer  may  be  said  to  possess  this 
advantage  over  his  predecessors ;  that  within  his 
reach  are  ancient  records,  which  have  been  translated 

*  The  whole  collection,  which  was  purchased  in  1880  by  the 
Trustees  of  the  British  Museum  from  Mr.  J.  G.  Grace,  con- 
sists of  between  5,000  and  6,000  prints  and  drawings,  besides 
three  volumes  of  maps,  &c. 

16 


Introduction 

by  scholars  in  recent  years  from  the  mediaeval  Latin 
and  Norman-French  of  the  originals.  For  this  most 
useful  work,  all  inquirers  into  the  social  and  muni- 
cipal history  of  ancient  London  are  under  special 
obligation  to  the  late  Mr.  H.  T.  Riley,  who  edited  the 
*'  Mediaeval  Chronicles  and  Memorials  "  series  of  the 
Master  of  the  Rolls,  with  the  title  of  "  Munimenta 
Gildhallse  Londoniensis."  These  include  the  "  Liber 
Horn," I  compiled  about  1311-1314  ;  the  "Liber  Cus- 
tumarum,"  compiled  about  the  year  1320  ;  both  works 
containing  valuable  compilations  of  City  laws  and 
customs  ;  and  the  **  Liber  Albus,"  compiled  in  I4i9by 
John  Carpenter,  Common  Clerk  in  the  mayoralty  of 
Richard  Whittington.  As  regards  the  varied  con- 
tents of  the  *'  Liber  Albus,"  Mr.  Riley  himself  writes 
at  considerable  length  in  his  Introduction.  "There 
is,"  he  says,  "  hardly  a  phase  or  feature  of  London 
life,  from  the  time  of  the  Conqueror  to  the  reign  of 
Henry  V.,  upon  which,  in  a  greater  or  less  degree, 
from  the  pages  of  the  *  Liber  Albus,*  some  light  is  not 
reflected."  Another  prolific  source  of  information  is 
an  Analytical  Index  to  Civic  Records  known  as  the 
"  Remembrancia,"  consisting  of  nine  manuscript 
volumes  of  correspondence,  covering  the  period  from 
1579  to  1664.  This  Index  was  published  in  1878,  with 
valuable  notes,  by  the  Guildhall  Library  Committee. 
There  are  also  Riley's  **  Memorials  of  London,  and 
London  Life,"  from  circa  1275  to  1419,  founded  on  the 
Letter  Books  A  to  I  of  the  Corporation  for  that  period. 
This  series  of  volumes  is  so  called  from  their  being 
severally  distinguished  by  a  letter  of  the  alphabet  from 

'  Named  from  Andrew  Horn,  Chamberlain   of    London,  an 
office  he  probably  held  for  about  eight  years :  died  1328. 

17  B 


Introduction 

A  to  Z,  and  from  A  A  to  ZZ,  comprising  just  fifty- 
volumes,  and  in  point  of  time  extending  from  the  early- 
years  of  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  almost  to  the  close  of 
the  reign  of  James  II.  The  earlier  volumes  possess 
the  greater  interest,  inasmuch  as  they  contain  the 
chief,  if  not  the  only  existing  record  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Council  and  Court  of  Alder- 
men prior  to  the  fifteenth  century,  commencing  about 
140  years  before  the  Journals  of  the  Common  Council 
which  date  from  14 16.  These  Letter  Books  have 
been  edited  by  Dr.  Reginald  R.  Sharpe  (1899). 

The  contents  of  these  records  were  early  appre- 
ciated and  partially  extracted  from.  Fabyan,i  Stow, 
Strype,  Seymour,  and  indeed  almost  every  City 
historian,  have  had  recourse  to  them.  Of  the  use 
made  of  them  by  Stow  we  have  only  to  turn  to 
the  recent  scholarly  version  of  the  **  Survey  of 
London"  (1908),  in  which  the  editor,  Mr.  Leth bridge 
Kingsford,  draws  attention  to  passages  in  that  famous 
classic  which  had  been  extracted  from  the  archives 
at  the  Guildhall.  It  is  certain,  says  Mr.  Kingsford, 
that  Stow  used  the  ** Liber  Albus"  and  ''Liber  Custu- 
marum,"  but  it  is  not  so  clear  that  he  was  acquainted 
with  the  ''Liber  de  Antiquis  Legibus."^  The  next 
writer,    probably,   who  was  indebted  for  any  of  his 

'  Alderman  Robert  Fabyan,  Sheriff  in  1493,  was  buried  in 
St.  Michael's,  Cornhill,  in  15 13.  He  compiled  an  elaborate 
Chronicle  dealing  with  France  as  well  as  England,  which  he 
called  ''The  Concordance  of  Histories/'  and  which  Stow 
characterises  as  "  a  painful  labour  to  the  honour  of  the  City 
and  the  whole  realm." 

*  "  Liber  de  Antiquis  Legibus  " — temp.  Edward  I.,  published 
in  1846  from  the  City  Records  as  an  addition  to  the  Chroniques 
de  Londres  in  1844. 

18 


Introduction 

jnatter  to  the  Letter  Books  and  other  compilations 
at  the  Guildhall,  was  the  indefatigable  Rymer 
(1641-1713).  His  **  Foedera "  is  a  collection  of 
leagues,  treaties,  alliances,  &c.,  between  the  Crown 
of  England  and  other  Kingdoms,  and  is  of  high 
value  and  authority  for  almost  all  periods  of  the 
Middle  Ages  and  for  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
first  volume  was  published  in  1704.  It  opens  with 
a  Convention  between  Henry  I.  and  Robert,  Earl 
of  Flanders,  dated  May  17,  iioi.  The  latest 
document  was  dated  1654.  Strype,  the  historian 
and  ecclesiologist,  in  preparing  his  elaborate  edition 
of  Stows  **  Survey"  (1720)  was  evidently  at  con- 
siderable pains  to  consult  the  City  archives,  with 
the  view  of  improving  upon  Stow's  rather  scanty 
information  as  to  the  early  history  of  its  institutions. 

It  may  seem  superfluous  to  add  that  in  a  subject 
which  engaged  the  attention  of  so  many  competent 
writers,  there  can  be  little  left  that  is  really  new  or 
original  to  say  about  it.  A  few  facts,  however, 
which  appear  to  have  hitherto  escaped  notice,  have 
been  introduced  into  these  pages,  more  especially  in 
connection  with  some  of  the  later-discovered  medi- 
cinal springs. 

To  guard  against  the  repetition  of  errors  which 
are  known  to  occur  in  the  writings  of  some  of  the 
older  historians  (and  unfortunately  copied  by  later 
ones),  either  through  inadvertence,  or  more  frequently 
perhaps  from  the  want  of  facilities  for  obtaining 
authentic  information — statements  of  fact,  as  well 
as  dates  (where  there  was  reason  to  suspect  in- 
accuracy) have  been  carefully  verified,  and,  where 
possible,    from  the  original  sources.      But  in  saying 

19 


Introduction 

this,  the  author  does  not  suggest  that  he  may  not 
himself  have  fallen  into  some  errors,  which,  in  a 
subject  covering  so  large  an  extent  of  ground,  will, 
in  spite  of  every  effort  to  ensure  accuracy,  creep  in. 

Those  who  may  be  led  by  the  perusal  of  this  book 
to  desire  more  detailed  information  of  any  persons 
or  incidents,  can  obtain  it  by  consulting  such  works 
as  are  referred  to  in  the  text  and  in  the  foot-notes, 
which  may  usually  be  seen  at  one  or  other  of  the 
great  public  libraries. 

With  regard  to  the  plan  adopted  :  it  has  been  found 
most  convenient  to  divide  the  subject  into  three  parts, 
of  which  the  first  deals  with  the  streams  and  spas 
north  of  the  Thames ;  the  second  with  those  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river ;  the  third  part  being  devoted 
to  a  short  review  of  the  earlier  methods  of  transport 
and  distribution  of  water  by  means  of  the  conduit 
system ;  concluding  with  some  observations  upon  the 
New  River  Company,  from  its  inception  as  a  private 
undertaking  down  to  the  time  when  it  was  numbered 
among  the  Great  Water  Companies  of  London.  A 
chapter  upon  Holy  Wells  and  their  origin,  and 
another  upon  Mineral  Waters,  are  also  included. 

Beyond  the  information  that  books  can  give,  a 
point  is  at  length  reached  when  recourse  must  be 
had  to  personal  knowledge  and  unwritten,  or  they 
might  be  called  living  recollections. 

My  thanks  are  due,  and  are  here  most  gratefully 
tendered,  to  all  who  have  assisted  me  during  the 
progress  of  my  book.  On  occasions  when  personal 
or  local  knowledge  could  alone  clear  up  a  doubtful 
point  or  difficulty,  my  applications  have  invariably 
met  with  a  courteous  response,  which  I  have  greatly 

20 


Introduction 

appreciated.  I  also  owe  a  special  debt  of  gratitude 
for  the  ready  and  frequently  unsolicited  help  which 
I  have  received  at  the  Guildhall  Library.  To  the 
librarians  of  many  of  the  suburban  libraries  I  desire 
likewise  to  express  my  warm  acknowledgments  for 
valuable  information,  and  for  facilities  which  they 
have  afforded  me  in  the  furtherance  of  my  work. 

With  regard  to  the  illustrations :  the  view  of  Acton 
Wells  Assembly-house  has,  the  author  believes,  never 
before  been  reproduced ;  that  of  St.  Chad's  Well 
has  certainly  never  appeared  elsewhere ;  and  the 
same  remark  applies  to  the  drawing  of  the  fountain 
at  Ladywell  Baths.  A  drawing  was  made  by  the 
author  of  the  Conduit-house  in  Hyde  Park  because 
of  the  difficulty  of  getting  a  satisfactory  photograph, 
owing  to  its  awkward  position  close  to  the  Park 
railings.  The  drawing  of  the  pump  in  the  church- 
yard of  St.  Dunstan-in-the-East  is  from  an  original 
sketch  by  the  author. 


21 


PART  I 

STREAMS   AND   SPAS   NORTH   OF 
THE   THAMES 


CHAPTER   I 

THE  WALLBROOK,   AND   PARTS  OF  THE   CITY 
ADJACENT 

Early  water-supply; —  Walebroc  —  Wallbrook  —  Barge  Yard, 
Bucklersbury  —  Dour  or  Dowgate  —  Tokenhouse  Yard  — 
Remains  of  tanpits — Finsbury — Subterranean  aqueduct 
noticed  by  Mr.  Roach  Smith  —  Blomfield  Street  —  All 
Hallows  on  the  Wall — Bethlehem  Hospital — Tower  Royal 
Street  and  Cloak  Lane — Channel  of  the  Wallbrook — 
Roman  Wall  of  London  in  relation  to  the  Wallbrook — 
Bank  of  England :  stream  first  reached  in  digging  a 
foundation  for  the  original  building  —  Dowgate  Hill  — 
Churches  on  banks  of  the  Wallbrook :  St.  Mildred's, 
Poultry  ;  St.  Stephen's,  Wallbrook ;  St.  John  the  Baptist 
upon  Wallbrook — Halls  of  the  Livery  Companies  along  or 
near  its  banks — Cutlers',  Dyers',  Joiners',  and  Innholders' 
Halls  —  Bridges  over  the  Wallbrook  —  National  Safe 
Deposit :  excavations  on  its  site — Stocks  Market — Lang- 
bourne  Stream — Sharebourne. 

FOR  nearly  two  hundred  years  after  the  Conquest 
London  obtained  ample  supplies  of  pure  water, 
partly  from  the  streams  flowing  near  to  or  passing 
through  it,  and  partly  from  wells  sunk  into  the  sands 
above  the  chalk.  The  river-side  population  doubtless 
found  in  ** silver"  Thames  an  abundant  and  never- 
failing  store.  In  streets  more  remote  from  the  river, 
sources  more  accessible  were  at  hand.  Such  were 
the   brooks,   the    names    of    which    still    survive   in 

25 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Walbrook,  Holborn  (formerly  Oldbourne  or  Hole- 
bourne),  and  Langbourne,  though  modern  authorities 
doubt  the  existence  of  such  a  stream  as  Stow 
describes,  the  name  **long  borne,"  which  he  gives  it, 
being  merely  based  on  its  supposed  meaning.  More 
distant  from  the  City — westward — were  the  Tybourne 
and  the  Westbourne. 

Although  the  rapid  disappearance  of  Old  London 
before  the  inexorable  march  of  **  improvements " 
must  always  be  a  matter  for  regret,  yet  the  very 
destruction  and  removal  of  ancient  buildings,  by 
laying  bare  large  tracts,  have  often  afforded  oppor- 
tunities to  competent  observers  to  elucidate  problems 
in  the  early  history  of  the  metropolis  which  might 
otherwise  have  remained  unsolved.  In  this  way — 
to  give  an  example — it  has  been  possible  to  trace  the 
course  of  a  stream,  such  as  the  Wallbrook,  with 
considerable  exactness,  and  by  the  same  means  to 
discover,  or  perhaps  rediscover,  some  ancient  well 
or  watercourse. 

The  first  water-supply  of  London  within  the  walls 
was  in  all  probability  furnished  by  the  Wallbrook, 
which  was  also  an  important  factor  in  the  mapping 
out  of  the  streets  and  wards.  It  has  been  generally 
believed  that  it  was  at  no  time  other  than  a  very 
small  stream,  both  in  regard  to  its  width  and  volume, 
and  this  is  doubtless  true  of  its  later  history,  when 
buildings  began  to  line  its  banks,  and  its  channel  in 
consequence  became  narrow  and  confined  ;  but  recent 
investigations  along  its  course  tend  to  prove  that  it 
was  formerly  very  much  wider  and  altogether  more 
considerable. 

It  appears  to  have  formed  the  western  boundary, 

26 


Wallbrook  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent 

from  the  Poultry  to  Dowgate,  of  Londinium,  the  first 
Roman  City  of  London,  and  in  the  time  of  the 
Romans  was  extra-mural.  The  best  and  most 
authentic  account  of  its  course  is  that  given  by  Mr. 
F.  W.  Reader,  whose  paper,  illustrated  by  a  plan, 
appeared  in  the  ArchcBO logical  Journal  (1903),' 
being  written  from  the  experience  of  actual  excava- 
tions. The  Wallbrook  was  formed  by  a  number  of 
small  streams  flowing  from  the  north-east  of  London 
and  meeting  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Finsbury,  five 
of  which,  says  Mr.  William  Tite^  (afterwards  Sir 
William)  are  still  in  existence  as  sewers.  The  main 
stream  rose  in  the  district  now  represented  by 
Hoxton,  flowing  in  the  direction  of  Wilson  Street, 
and,  within  the  walls,  to  the  east  of  Finsbury,  ran 
through  the  midst  of  the  City  from  north  to  south, 
forming  a  dividing  line  between  the  thirteen  eastern 
and  eleven  western  Wards.  In  the  thirteenth  and 
fourteenth  centuries  the  Wallbrook  was  an  important 
waterway.  Various  derivations  have  been  proposed 
for  its  name,  and  as  there  is  always  a  significance  in 
local  names — they  are  never  mere  arbitrary  sounds 
devoid  of  meaning — it  may  be  well  to  quote  some 
opinions  on  the  point.  Mr.  J.  R.  Green,  who  devotes 
a  considerable  space  in  '*  The  Conquest  of  England  " 
(1884),  in  dealing  with  London,  traces  the  name 
Walebroc,3  as  it  is  written  in  ancient  deeds,  to  the 

»  "  On  Pile  Structures  in  the  Wallbrook,  near  London  Wall " 
{Journal  of  the  Archceological  Society,  vol.  Ix.  pp.  137-204). 

2  "  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Antiquities  found  in  excavations 
at  the  New  Royal  Exchange,  1848,"  p.  25  et  seq.     (W.  Tite.) 

3  So-called    in    11 14-33   (Chron.   Ramsey,    248  ;    Cartul.   de 
Ramseia,  i.  139,  Rolls  Ser.). 

27 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Anglo-Saxon  walk,  a  stranger  or  foreigner,  "■  from  the 
fact  that  on  its  navigable  channel  the  trade  of  the 
foreigner  was  brought  up  from  the  Thames  to  the  very 
heart  of  the  *  chepe,'  ^  or  market  at  the  port  or  hythe 
(commemorated  in  Barge  Yard),  fixed  by  tradition  in 
the  modern  Bucklersbury."  That  the  Wallbrook  was 
navigable  up  to  a  point  not  far  short  of  the  City  wall 
on  the  north  side,  is  said  to  have  been  confirmed  by 
the  finding  of  a  keel  and  other  parts  of  a  boat  in 
digging  the  foundations  of  a  house  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  Moorgate  Street. 

The  Wallbrook  was  largely  used  by  tanneries  and 
other  industries  where  water  was  requisite  ;  extensive 
remains  of  tan-pits  having  been  discovered  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Tokenhouse  Yard. 

Probably  the  earliest  mention  of  the  stream  is  in 
the  confirmatory  Charter  granted  by  William  the 
Conqueror  to  the  Church  of  St.  Martin-le-Grand 
(1068). 2  In  the  Old  English  version  of  this  Charter, 
it  is  described  by  the  word  wylrithe,  meaning  a 
rivulet  {rithe)  issuing  from  a  spring  (^yl\  so  that  it 
was  in  these  early  times  apparently  nameless.  The 
rivulus  foncium  ( =fontium)  of  the  Latin  version  of  the 
Charter  is  merely  a  translation  of  the   Old  English 

'  Mr.  J.  E.  Price  cites  entries  in  the  Hustings  Roll  which 
show  clearly  that  West  Cheap  (Cheapside),  existed  as  one  of 
the  markets  of  London  in  1284,  that  is,  twenty-six  years  before 
the  list  of  wards  was  compiled  under  the  famous  statute  known 
from  its  opening  words  as  ''  Quia  Emptores.^'  (Green,  *'  His- 
tory of  the  EngUsh  People,"  i.  335,  1895.) 

*  The  church  was  of  pre-Norman  times,  founded  by  one 
Ingelric,  in  1056.  The  full  text  of  the  Charter  is  printed  in 
Historical  Notices  of  St.  Martin-le-Grand,  by  A.  J.  Kemp,  1825  ; 
and  by  W.  H.  Stevenson,  in  Eng.  Hist,  Rev.,  1896. 

28 


Wallbrook  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent 

wylrithe.  **  The  River  of  the  Wels,"  as  pointed  out 
by  Mr.  Kingsford,  is  simply  Stow's  translation  of  the 
rivulus  foncium  of  William's  Latin  Charter.  *'  It  is 
not  clear,"  Mr.  Kingsford  continues,  **  that  the  words 
of  the  Charter  are  intended  to  distinguish  the  rivulus 
foncium  near  the  north  corner  {aquilonare  cornu)  of 
the  wall  from  the  running  water  which  entered  the 
City."  Mr.  Lethaby  ^  has  argued  that  they  were 
identical,  and  that  the  Well-brook  is  Wall  Brook 
itself.  If  there  was  a  brook  draining  west  from  the 
Moor,  it  must  either  have  joined  the  Fagswell-brook, 
or  have  run  through  the  site  of  St.  Bartholomew's 
Hospital,  which  before  Rahere's  time  (twelfth  century) 
was  but  a  marsh  ;  2  if  so,  the  Well-brook  might  be  the 
stream  running  through  the  Hospital  to  Holborn 
Bridge,  which  was  covered  in  by  licence  from 
Edward  I.  ''on  account  of  the  too  great  stench  pro- 
ceeding from  it."  3  In  any  case  Stow's  identification 
of  the  Well-brook  with  Turnmill-brook  is  an  unten- 
able conjecture  ;  the  latter  was  clearly  the  upper  course 
of  the  Fleet,  or  that  part  of  the  Holebourne  which  ran 
parallel  with  Turnmill  Streets 

The  Wallbrook  in  Stow's  time  had  long  ceased  to 
be  "a  fair  brooke  of  sweet  water,"  but  by  continual 
encroachments  upon  its  banks  and  casting  of  soilage 
into  the  stream,  it  had  become,  in  his  own  words, 
**  worse  cloyed  and  choken  than  ever  before."  Mr. 
Loftie  suggests  that  the  Wallbrook  had  at  least  two 

^  "  London  before  the  Conquest,''  1902,  45-7. 
*  Cotton  MS.  Vespasian,  bk.  ix.,  f .  7V0. 

3  Morley,  "  Bartholomew  Fair,"  70. 

4  Stow's  ''  Survey  of  London  "  (text  of  1603),  edited  by  C.  L. 
Kingsford,  1908  ;  notes,  pp.  270-1. 

29 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

names,  and  that  as  the  Dour  (Celtic  dwr,  water,  or 
river),  it  gave  the  name  to  Dowgate.^ 

Mr.  F.  G.  Hilton  Price,  in  his  address  published  in 
the  London  Topographical  Record  (vol.  iii.  1906), 
speaks  of  an  Eastern  Branch  which  **  rose  near  the 
south  end  of  the  present  New  North  Road,  in  the 
direction  of  the  present  Pitfield  Street,  Hoxton, 
thence  by  Willow  Walk  across  the  Curtain  Road  by- 
King  John's  Court,  to  Holywell  Lane ;  after  this  it 
followed  a  course  east  of  the  whole  length  of  Long 
Alley,  then  by  the  old  burial-ground  of  Bethlehem 
Hospital  2  and  along  Blomfield  Street,  somewhat  to 
the  west  of  All  Hallows,  London  Wall,  where  it  fell 
into  the  ditch  of  the  City  Wall." 

Mr.  Reader's  plan  shows  that  the  Wallbrook  came 
up  to  the  Roman  Wall  along  the  site  of  Blomfield 
Street,  but  was  in  pre-Roman  times  very  much 
wider  than  that  street.  His  theory,  with  which  Mr. 
Philip  Norman,  a  well-known  authority  on  London 
archaeology,  agrees,  is  that  the  Roman  Wall  greatly 
obstructed  the  flow  of  the  Wallbrook,  the  culverts 
made  by  the  Romans  through  the  wall  to  carry  the 
stream  being  insufficient,  and  that  this  caused  the 
marshy  land  of  Moorfields,  and  of  the  north  part 
of  the  City  within  the  wall,  through  soakage  under 
the  wall.  FitzStephen,  writing  towards  the  end  of 
the  twelfth  century,  describes  the  diversion  of  skating 
indulged  in  by  the  youth  of  London,  "■  when  that  vast 

»  ''  London  Afternoons,"  W.  J.  Loftie,  1901,  chap.  iv. 

*  Its  origin  was  the  Priory  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  estab- 
lished in  the  reign  of  Henry  III.,  and  which  stood  on  the  east 
side  of  Moorfields.  In  the  year  1330  the  religious  house  became 
known  as  a  pubUc  hospital. 

30 


Wallbrook  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent 

fen  which  waters  the  walls  of  the  City  towards  the 
north  is  hard  frozen."  The  arch  of  masonry  under 
which  the  Wallbrook  entered  the  City  through  the 
Wall  seems  to  have  been  discovered  in  1840  or 
1 84 1.  The  late  Mr.  Charles  Roach  Smith, ^  a  leading 
authority  on  Roman  London,  describes  the  opening 
thus  :  "  Opposite  Finsbury  Chambers,^  at  a  depth  of 

19  feet,  what  appeared  to  have  been  a  subterranean 
aqueduct  was  laid  open.  It  was  found  to  run  towards 
Finsbury,  under  the  houses  of  the  Circus  for  about 

20  feet,  and  at  the  termination  were  iron  bars 
fastened  into  the  masonry  to  prevent  the  sedge  and 
weeds  from  choking  the  passage.  The  arched 
entrance,  3  feet  6  inches  in  height  by  3  feet  3  inches 
in  width,  had  evidently  been  above-ground,  as 
quantities  of  moss  still  adhered  to  the  masonry." 

In  early  Roman  times  the  Wallbrook  was  a  stream 
of  considerable  width  ;  records  of  its  measurement 
showing  the  channel  to  have  been  nearly  300  feet 
broad  at  its  mouth,  where  it  joined  the  Thames, 
narrowing  to  about  1 20  feet  at  Moorfields.  Sewerage 
excavations  in  the  streets  called  Tower  Royal  and 
St.  Thomas  Apostle,  and  also  in  Cloak  Lane,  dis- 
covered the  channel  to  be  248  feet  wide,  filled 
with  made-earth  and  mud,  in  horizontal  layers,  and 
containing  a  quantity  of  black  timber  of  small 
scantling.  The  form  of  the  banks  could  likewise 
be  traced,  covered  with  rank  grass  and  weeds.     The 

'  Archceologia,  vol.  29,  1842,  "  Observations  on  Roman  remains 
recently  found  in  London,"  by  C.  Roach  Smith. 

*  Finsbury  Chambers  stood  at  the  south-west  corner  of 
Blomfield  Street  and  London  Wall ;  the  site  is  now  occupied 
by  London  Wall  Buildings,  erected  1901-03. 

31 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

digging  varied  from  i8  feet  9  inches  to  15  feet 
6  inches  in  depth,  but  the  bottom  of  the  Wallbrook 
was  never  reached  in  those  parts,  as  even  in  Princes 
Street  it  is  upwards  of  30  feet  below  the  present 
surface  One  of  the  earliest  records  of  the  stream 
being  reached  is  by  Maitland,i  in  digging  a  founda- 
tion for  the  Bank  of  England  in  Threadneedle  Street 
in  1732,  on  the  site  of  the  house  and  garden  of 
Sir  John  Houblon,  the  first  Governor.  The  same 
historian  says  the  Wallbrook  ran  above-ground  till 
about  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  but  the 
covering  over  of  the  stream,  according  to  Hughson,^ 
took  place  about  a  hundred  years  later — in  1440 — 
when  the  Church  of  St.  Margaret  Lothbury  was 
rebuilt,  at  which  time  Robert  Large,  Mayor  in  that 
year,  contributed  to  the  vaulting  over  of  the 
Wallbrook.  It  seems,  however,  that  only  a  part 
of  the  stream  was  covered  over  in  the  year  just 
mentioned,  for  Stow  says :  ''  Order  was  taken  in 
the  2nd  of  Edward  IV.  (1462),  that  such  as  had 
ground  on  either  side  of  Wallbrooke,  should  vault 
and  pave  it  over  as  far  as  his  ground  extended." 
From  the  top  of  Dowgate,  an  open  channel  existed 
to  the  Thames  as  late  as  1574,  Stow  recording 
that  the  water  at  this  part  had  '*  such  a  swift  course 
that  in  the  year  1574  a  lad  of  eighteen  years, 
minding  to  have  leapt  over  the  channel,  was  borne 
down  that  narrow  stream  towards  the  Thames  with 
such  violent  swiftness  as  no  man  could  rescue  or 
stay  him."  From  this  it  is  evident  that  the  stream 
could    not   have   been   very   wide   hereabouts.     The 

*  Maitland's  "  History  of  London,"  1739,  p.  507. 
«  Hughson's  "  History  of  London,"  1806,  vol.  iii.  p.  51. 

32 


Wallbrook  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent 

portion  of  the  Wallbrook  which  traversed  the  fields 
towards  Hoxton  continued  its  course  above-ground 
long  after  that  within  the  city  had  been  covered 
over,  as  is  shown  in  Ralph  Agas's  map  of  London,  ^ 
wherein  it  is  seen  emptying  itself  into  the  City 
Ditch  just  to  the  east  of  the  Church  of  All  Hallows 
on  the  Wall.  The  course  of  the  Roman  Wallbrook 
seems  to  have  been  generally  the  same  as  that  which 
it  took  in  mediaeval  times.  *'  It  is  well  defined," 
says  Mr.  Lethaby,  **  by  three  churches  :  St.  Mildred, 
Poultry ;  St.  Stephen  (formerly  on  a  different  site 
on  the  west  or  right  bank,  whence  it  was  removed 
to  the  present  site  in  1429) ;  and  St.  John  the 
Baptist,  all  super  Wallbrook."  The  last-named 
church  was  destroyed  in  the  Great  Fire  and  not 
rebuilt.  A  memorial,  which  stands  on  the  north 
side  of  Cloak  Lane,  near  the  east  corner,  serves  to 
mark  its  site.  St.  Margaret  Lothbury  also  stood 
above  the  Wallbrook  on  vaults. 

The  halls  and  properties  of  some  of  the  City  com- 
panies were  situated  along  or  near  the  course  of  the 
Wallbrook,  namely  those  of  the  Skinners,  the  Dyers, 
and  the  Tallow  Chandlers  on  Dowgate  Hill,  and  of 
the    Innholders    in    College    Street,    formerly   called 

^  The  commonly  accepted  date — 1560 — inscribed  upon  the 
reproductions  of  the  Agas  map  is  manifestly  wrong,  because 
it  shows  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  without  its  spire,  which  existed 
down  to  156 1,  in  which  year  it  was  struck  down  by  lightning. 
Mr.  W.  H.  Overall,  F.S.A.,  one  of  the  leading  authorities  on 
the  question,  doubts  Agas's  connection  with  the  map,  but  thinks 
if  he  were  the  originator  it  could  not  have  been  done  before 
159 1.  From  internal  evidence,  "we  may  take  it,"  says  Miss 
Mitton  ("  Maps  of  Old  London,"  1908),  "  that  the  original  map 
was  made  some  time  in  the  latter  half  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  and 
it  is  probable  that  it  was  done  by  Agas." 

33  C 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Elbow  Lane.  The  Cutlers  were  in  Cloak  Lane. 
The  direction  taken  by  the  Wallbrook  after  its  pas- 
sage through  the  wall  has  been  found  by  recent 
investigation  to  be  considerably  more  to  the  east 
than  was  supposed  by  Mr.  J.  E.  Price,  and  shown 
in  his  plan  of  its  course.^  Taking  Mr.  Reader's  plan 
as  a  guide,  it  is  there  seen  that  after  crossing  the 
street  of  London  Wall,  it  curved  slightly  to  the 
westward,  passed  along  Little  Bell  Alley  (now 
Copthall  Avenue)  through  Tokenhouse  Yard  and 
across  the  churchyard  of  St.  Margaret  Lothbury, 
under  the  church,  thence  through  what  is  now  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  Bank  of  England.  Crossing 
Princes  Street  its  course  was  beneath  Grocers'  Hall 
and  the  Church  of  St.  Mildred,  Poultry,^  where  at  a 
depth  of  1 6  feet  it  ran  in  Maitland's  time  {circa  1739) 
**a  great  and  rapid  stream."  From  the  Poultry  it 
passed  to  the  west  of  the  Stocks'  Market  (which 
occupied  the  ground  now  covered  by  the  Mansion 
House,  built  1739-41),  flowed  down  the  present 
Wallbrook  Street,  crossed  Budge  Row  near  its 
eastern  end  ;  then  under  the  present  new  Cannon 
Street  to  the  west  of  the  Church  of  St.  John  by 
Wallbrook.  It  again  wandered  westward,  nearly  as 
far  as  the  Church  of  St.  Michael  Paternoster  Royal  ; 
then  it  passed  eastward  under  Little  College  Street, 
south  over  Thames  Street,  and  thence  running  between 

'  "  Roman  Antiquities  recently  discovered  on  the  site  of  the 
National  Safe  Deposit  Company's  premises,  Mansion  House, 
London."     (J.  E.  Price,  1873.) 

2  The  ship  which  formed  the  vane  on  the  tov^er  of  this  church 
has  been  referred  to  the  stream  which  flow^ed  under  it.  The 
second  church — there  were  three — was  rebuilt  on  an  arch  over 
the  Wallbrook  in  1456. 

34 


Wallbrook  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent 

Joiners'  Hall  Buildings  and  Friar's  Alley  it  reached 
the  Thames  at  the  little  port  of  Dowgate. 

The  Wallbrook  was  spanned  by  several  stone 
bridges,  for  which  special  keepers  were  appointed. 
One  was  near  London  Wall,  next  to  the  Church  of 
All  Hallows ;  another  a  little  to  the  south.  In  the 
year  1300,  28th  of  Edward  I.,  both  these  bridges 
were  ordered  to  be  repaired,  for  which  the  Prior  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  within  Aldgate,  was  liable  for  the 
first,  and  the  Prior  of  the  New  Hospital  of  Our  Lady, 
that  is,  St.  Mary  Spital  without  Bishopsgate,  for  the 
second.  In  1291  an  inquiry  was  held  as  to  the 
repair  of  a  bridge  near  **  the  tenement  of  Bokereles- 
bery."  Over  against  the  wall  of  the  chancel  of  the 
Church  of  St.  Stephen  was  yet  another,  and  Horse- 
shoe Bridge  was  situate  where  the  brook  crossed 
Cloak  Lane  by  the  Church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist. 
Other  structures  have  been  brought  to  light  in 
connection  with  the  Wallbrook.  Mr.  J.  E.  Price, 
whose  name  has  been  already  mentioned,  published 
in  1873  ^^^  results  of  his  observations  during  the 
building  of  the  National  Safe  Deposit  Company's 
vaults,  when  a  complete  section  of  a  portion  of  the 
ancient  watercourse  of  the  Wallbrook  was  disclosed, 
and  also  the  wooden  piling  placed  along  the  line  of 
the  embankment.  In  the  trench  excavated  for  the 
foundations  of  the  massive  external  walls  parallel  with 
Charlotte  Row,  there  appeared  at  a  depth  of  25  feet 
from  the  surface-level  a  timber  flooring  supported  by 
huge  oak  timbers  12  inches  square,  and  running 
parallel  with  the  stream.  This  was  at  the  south 
corner,  and  may  have  indicated  a  stage  or  landing- 
place.      At    Dowgate    Hill,    at    the    outfall   of    the 

35 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Wallbrook  into  the  Thames,  the  remains  of  another 
ancient  landing-stage,  formed  of  a  Roman-tiled  pave- 
ment, set  upon  timber  piles  with  mortised  jointing, 
was  discovered  in  1884.  The  stage  stood  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Wallbrook,  facing  it. 

The  writer  of  a  chapter  in  **  Modern  London," 
printed  for  Richard  Phillips  in  1805,  says  that  he  saw 
the  Wallbrook  in  November,  1803,  "still  trickling 
among  the  foundations  of  new  buildings  at  the 
Bank." 

The  construction  of  Cannon  Street  Railway  Station, 
opened  in  1866,  necessitated  the  excavation  of  the 
site  of  the  Steel  Yard,  formerly  occupied  by  merchants 
of  the  Hanseatic  League,  whose  trade  monopolies 
were  abolished  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
This  was  found  to  have  been  situated  on  the 
*' filling"^  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  ancient  stream, 
near  where  it  emptied  itself  into  the  Thames.  At 
Barge  Yard,  during  the  construction  of  Queen  Victoria 
Street  in  1871,  a  barge  was  found  buried  in  the 
mud,  still  containing  the  calcined  remains  of  its  cargo 
of  corn,  showing  that  the  barges  came  up  to  this 
point  to  discharge  their  contents.  Recent  excavations 
for  the  building  of  the  Northern  Assurance  Company 
at  the  south-west  corner  of  Moorgate  Street,  dis- 
closed a  subsoil  of  firm  Thames  ballast,  and  similar 
ballast  was  also  found  under  Parr's  Bank  in  Bartho- 
lomew Lane ;  but  between  these  two  points  mud  is 
found  sometimes  to  a  depth  of  30  feet.  The  dividing 
line  of  gravel  and  mud  passes  through  Austin  Friars, 
and    there    are    unmistakable    indications    that    the 

'  The  word  "filling"  is  here  probably  used  to  express  an 
embankment  of  stone,  gravel,  earth,  &c. 

36 


Wallbrook  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent 

stream  (of  Wallbrook)  at  this  point  flowed  through 
and  drained  a  lagoon,  or  morass,  bounded  by  Coleman 
Street  on  the  one  side  and  Old  Broad  Street  on  the 
other. I  Thus  the  Bank  of  England  and  the  Mansion 
House  are  both  built  on  the  alluvium  deposited  by 
the  Wallbrook. 2 

Writing  upon  the  Ward  of  Langbourne3  in  1897, 
Mr.  W.  Sweetland  points  out  that  the  name  is 
written  *'  Langeford  "4  in  a  list  of  the  Wards  of 
the  City,  dated  about  the  year  1285,  and  contained 
in  Letter  Book  A.  He  thinks,  however,  the  scribe 
wrote  "Langeford"  for  *' Langbourne,"  especially  as 
in  the   Inquisition  in  the  Hundred  Rolls,  ten  years 

«  The  "  Buried  Rivers  of  London,"  a  paper  read  December 
13,  1907,  at  the  Auctioneers'  Institute  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Head,  F.A.I. 

«  At  the  time  of  the  collapse  of  a  portion  of  the  roof  of 
Charing  Cross  Railway  Station  (December  5,  1905),  particulars 
of  the  geological  formation  in  the  vicinity  v^rere  published  in 
the  Standard.  The  alluvial  deposits  at  the  bottom  of  Craven 
Street,  close  to  the  wall  of  the  station,  are  given  as  follows,  the 
information  having  been  obtained  from  an  official  of  the 
Jermyn  Street  Museum.  The  deposits  are  similar  in  character 
to  those  of  the  Wallbrook  described  in  the  text. 

Made  ground         

Mud 

Ballast        

Sand  

Total 45     o 

London  Clay. 

3  Old  Lombard  Street,  which  extended  to  the  north-east 
corner  of  the  Mansion  House,  where  the  Stocks'  Market  stood, 
was  known  as  Langbourne  Street  for  a  generation  after  the 
Lombards  were  allowed  to  settle  in  it  in  the  thirteenth  century. 

4  The  Ward  appears  as  "  Langeburn"  in  1293  (Cal.  Wills, 
i.  702-3). 

37 


Ft. 

In. 

19 

0 

10 

6 

3 

6 

12 

0 

Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

earlier  in  date,  the  Ward  is  twice  mentioned  by 
its  present  name.  Mr.  Sweetland  then  quotes 
from  Stow,  who  speaks  of  the  marshy  nature  of 
the  eastern  end  of  the  Langbourne  Ward,  and 
that  this  fen  was  the  source  of  the  brook,  which 
**  of  old  time  breaking  out  in  Fenchurch  Street, 
ran  down  the  same  street  and  Lombard  Street  to 
the  west  end  of  St.  Mary  Woolnoth's  Church, 
where  turning  south,  and  breaking  into  shares, 
rills,  or  streams,  it  left  the  name  of  Share-borne 
Lane  (Sherborne  Lane)  or  Southborne  Lane,  as 
I  have  read,  because  it  ran  south  to  the  River 
of  Thames."  Stow  closes  his  notice  by  saying  that 
the  Langbourne  had  been  long  since  stopped  up 
at  the  head,  and  the  rest  of  its  course  filled  up 
and  paved  over,  **  so  that  no  sign  thereof  remaineth 
more  than  the  name  of  it."  Such  a  frank  admis- 
sion as  this  seems  to  show  that  the  description 
was  as  traditionary  to  him  as  it  is  at  the  present 
day. 

The  Sharebourne,  which  Stow  connects  with  the 
Langbourne,  is  most  probably  another  equally 
mythical  stream.  Sir  William  Tite,  bringing  his 
practical  knowledge  to  bear  upon  the  subject, 
demonstrates  that  the  Langbourne,  if  it  ever 
existed  at  all  as  a  streamlet,  did  not  run  in  the 
direction  so  explicitly  described  by  Stow.  It  could 
not  really  have  flowed  from  Fen  Court  westward 
by  way  of  Lombard  Street,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  the  ground  **  rises  upwards  of  3  feet  from 
Mincing  Lane  to  Gracechurch  Street ;  and  not  only 
is  the  present  surface  thus  elevated,  but  the 
ancient  surface,   though  it  lies    17   feet   below,  has 

38 


Wallbrook  and  Parts  of  the  City  Adjacent 

the  same  inclination.  In  excavatinor  for  sewers  in 
Gracechurch  Street,  though  the  traces  of  the 
Langbourne  were  carefully  sought  for,  no  indications 
could  be  found  of  a  stream  having  crossed  it.  As, 
however,  there  doubtless  existed  some  foundation 
for  the  tradition  of  the  reported  course  of  the 
Langbourne,  it  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  having 
been  an  ancient  artificial  trench,  all  traces  of  the 
real  direction  of  which  were  effaced  at  some  very 
early  period  in  the  history  of  the  metropolis."  The 
testimony  of  ancient  documents  tends  to  support 
the  views  of  most  modern  writers  in  this  connec- 
tion. In  the  Calendar  of  Letter  Books  in  the 
Guildhall  Library,  ranging  from  the  twelfth  to  the 
sixteenth  centuries,  the  name  Langbourne  is 
frequently  met  with,  but  invariably  with  reference 
to  the  Ward,   not  to  the  Stream. 

Like  the  *' Langborne,"  the  **  Shareborne"  rests 
solely  on  Stow's  conjectural  etymology.  The  name 
first  occurs  (as  noticed  by  Mr.  Lethaby  in  **  London 
before  the  Conquest ")  in  1272  as  *' Shittebornelane," 
and  so  continues  for  two  centuries  with  variations 
like  "Schiteborou  lane,"  and  *' Shiteburgh  lane" 
(Watney,  **  Account  of  St.  Thomas  Aeon,"  289  ;  Cal. 
Wills,  I,  13,  162,  171,  220).  **Shirborne  lane" 
appears  in  1467,  and  **  Sherborne  Lane"  in  1556 
(id.  ii.  586,  666).i 

*  Kingsford's  edition  of  Stow^s  "  Survey/'  vol.  ii. ;  notes,  p.  307. 


39 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    HOLEBOURNE    (OR   FLEET),    TYBOURNE, 
WESTBOURNE,  AND  SERPENTINE 

Fleet  River— Ditch— Bridge— Turnmill  Brook— River  of  Wells 
— Holebourne  (or  Fleet)  :  its  source  and  direction  traced — 
Blemund's  Ditch — Tybourne  Brook :  its  course  described — 
Marylebone  Lane  twice  crossed  by  it — Formed  a  delta  at 
Thorney  Island,  Westminster — Kilburn  Stream,  an  affluent 
of  the  Westbourne — Aye  or  Eye  Brook — Eia  Estate — Bays- 
water  Brook,  a  name  applied  to  the  Westbourne — Course 
of  the  stream  defined — Serpentine :  formed  at  the  instigation 
of  Queen  Caroline — Old  maps  of  Middlesex. 

OUTSIDE  the  walls  of  the  City,  in  what  are 
now  the  western  suburbs,  were  three  great 
brooks ;  the  Hole-bourne,  the  Ty-bourne,  and  the 
West-bourne,  all  issuing  from  the  uplands  of 
Hampstead  and  Highgate.  Of  these,  the  most 
important  to  the  citizens  of  London  was  the  Hole- 
bourne  ^  (whence  Holborn),  expressing  the  burn  in 
the  hollow  or  ravine.  One  writer,  Mr.  J.  G.  Waller, 
points    out    that   the    holes    that    gave    the    Saxon 

*  The  Oldborne  or  Hilbourne,  of  Stow,  but,  as  pointed  out  by 
Mr.  Kingsford,  if  Oldborne  were  correct  the  original  form  would 
be  Ealdborne.  In  early  documents  it  is  always  Holeburne  or 
Holeborne.  Holeburne,  the  stream,  occurs  in  Domesday,  i.  127, 
and  in  a  Charter  of  Henry  H.  (Mon.  Ang.  iv.  85)  and  Holeburne 
Strate  in  125 1  (Hist.  MSS.  Comm.,  9th  Rep.  3). 

40 


H  O 

fa  ;C 

o  < 

33  75 

H  :S 

ID  S   ■ 

O  3 

§  O 

K 
H 

fa 
O 


The  Holebournc  (or  Fleet) 

name  to  the  Holebourne  are  still  marked  by  tKe 
sites  of  Hockley-in- the- Hole,  now  Ray  Street, 
Clerkenwell — and  Black  Mary's  Hole,  Bagnigge 
Wells.  A  part  of  the  depression  here  suggested 
is  particularly  noticeable  near  Farringdon  Station, 
on  the  Metropolitan  Railway,  which,  in  fact,  runs 
in  places  in  the  old  bed  of  the  stream,  and  also 
in  Farringdon  Street,  where,  with  the  side-streets 
rising  on  either  hand,  one  can  imagine  how  it  had 
eroded  its  channel  between  the  high  banks  on  its 
way  to  the  River  Thames. 

In  its  lower  course  the  Holebourne  went  by  the 
name  of  the  Fleet, '  by  which  it  was  best  known  to 
Londoners.  Like  the  Wallbrook,  it  was  navigable 
for  small  ships  and  barges  for  a  short  distance  above 
its  mouth.  The  names  of  Seacole  Lane  and  New- 
castle Lane  bear  witness  to  the  fact  of  its  navigability, 
and  when  De  Keyser's  Hotel  was  rebuilt  in  1871  the 
timber  camp-sheeting  of  old  Bridewell  Dock  was 
found  beneath  the  foundations.  Early  in  the  twelfth 
century  the  district  beyond  the  Fleet  is  called  ultra 
Fletam.2  Henry  H.  gave  to  the  Templars  a  site  for 
a  Mill  super  Fletam  juxta  Castelum  Bainard,  which 

'  A  fleet  is  either  that  which  is  afloat,  or  a  place  where  vessels 
can  float  (from  the  Anglo-Saxon  verb  fleotan^  to  float  or  swim), 
or  where  water  fleets  or  runs.  Hence  the  names  Ebbfleet, 
Northfleet,  Portfleet,  &c.  The  word  vlei,  which  the  Boers  of  the 
Cape  use  for  the  smaller  rivers,  is  the  same  word  fleet  (Dutch, 
vliet),  in  a  somewhat  disguised  form.  (*'  Words  and  Places," 
Isaac  Taylor,  1885,  p.  184). 

The  natural  feature  to  which  we  give  the  name  of  "fleet" 
may  be  studied  in  the  Thames,  especially  at  Purfleet  and 
Winnington,  the  latter  occupying  a  bend  of  the  river  remark- 
ably similar  to  that  at  Westminster. 

»  Calendar  of  St.  Paul's  MSS. 

41 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

was  removed  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  on  the  com- 
plaint of  Henry  Lacy,  third  Earl  of  Lincoln,  that  it 
had  lessened  the  width  and  depth  of  water  under 
Holebourne  Bridge  and  Fleet  Bridge.  The  Earl's 
petition  is  interesting,  as  it  refers  to  a  time  when  ten 
or  twelve  **  navies  "  (ships),  with  merchandise,  "  were 
wont  to  come  to  Flete  Bridge,  and  some  of  them  to 
Holeburne  Bridge."  The  result  of  the  petition  was 
that  the  creek  was  cleaned,  the  mills,  which  had 
caused  a  diversion  of  the  water,  removed,  and  other 
means  taken  for  the  preservation  of  the  course.  But 
still,  as  if  destined  to  be  a  common  sewer,  it  was  soon 
choked  with  filth  again,  and  the  scouring  of  the 
muddy  stream,  which  seems  to  have  silted  up  about 
every  thirty  or  forty  years,  was  a  continual  expense 
to  the  City  of  London.  On  account  of  this  it  has 
been  humorously  but  aptly  described  as  a  sort  of  dirty 
and  troublesome  child  to  the  Corporation. 

Lord  Chesterfield  was  once  asked  by  a  patriotic  but 
untravelled  Parisian  whether  London  could  show  a 
river  like  the  Seine.  "  Yes,"  replied  his  lordship, 
**we  call  it  Fleet  Ditch." 

The  name  of  Turnmill  Brook,  given  to  the  Fleet 
north  of  Fleet  Bridge,  was  one  which  it  justified  till  a 
comparatively  recent  period,  as  after  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century  it  gave  motion  to  flour  and  flatting 
mills  at  the  back  of  Field  Lane,  near  Holborn.  Turn- 
mill  Street,  which  runs  from  the  west  end  of  Clerken- 
well  Green  to  Cow  Cross  Street,  now  marks  the 
course  of  the  stream  in  the  valley  by  Farringdon 
Road.  In  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.  it  is  mentioned  as 
Trylmyl  Strete,  in  which  some  persons  are  empowered 
to  mend  a  stone  bridge  over  the  river  Fleet.     Falstaff, 

42 


The  Holebourne  (or  Fleet) 

in  summing  up  the  character  of  Justice  Shallow 
alludes  to  it  as  Turnbull  Street,  another  of  its  varia- 
tions ;  and  it  is  marked  in  Agas's  map  as  Turmer 
Street. 

This  river  has  now  been  spoken  of  under  three 
different  names ;  of  these  the  Holebourne,  or  Hol- 
burne,  seems  to  be  the  most  ancient,  and  under  that 
title  it  occurs  in  Domesday  Book,  thus :  **  Two 
cottagers  belonging  to  Holburne  paid  twenty  pence 
a  year  to  the  King's  Sheriff."  By  Stow,  and  others 
after  him,  it  has  been  called  the  River  of  Wells,  but 
neither  in  the  Parliament  Rolls,  nor  in  the  Patent 
Rolls  of  1307  (Edward  I.)  does  it  appear  in  this  form, 
although  Stow  cites  these  documents  as  containing 
the  name.  The  first  speaks  of  **  the  watercourse  of 
Fleet  running  under  the  bridge  of  Holburn,"  and  the 
second  calls  it  "the  Fleet  River  from  Holburn  Bridofe 
to  the  Thames."  ^  Mr.  Stevenson  2  believes  the 
**  rivtdus  foncium  "  of  the  Conqueror's  Charter,  quoted 
above,  to  be  the  true  origin  of  the  "  River  of  Wells.'* 
Pennant  was  of  the  same  opinion,  as  he  states  that 
the  River  of  Wells  or  Wall-brook  is  mentioned  in  a 
Charter  of  William  the  Conqueror  to  the  College  of 
St.   Martin-le-Grand. 

The  tradition  that  Holborn  is  so  named  after  a 
brook — the  Old  Bourne  3 — supposed  to  have  risen  on 
the  hill,  a  little  to  the  west  of  Brooke  Street,  about 
where  Holborn  Bars  stood,  and  to  have  flowed  in  an 
easterly  direction  into    the    Fleet   River,    cannot   be 

«  ''  London  Before  the  Conquest,"  W.  R.  Lethaby,  1902. 
=*  English  Historical  Review^  1896. 

3  '<  The  Fascination  of  London  " — Holborn  and  Bloomsbury, 
Besant,  1903. 

43 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

sustained  by  any  evidence  or  any  traces  of  the  bed  of 
a  former  stream,  although  Stow  speaks  positively  as 
to  its  existence,  but  which,  he  says,  had  long  been 
stopped  up.  One  writer  marks  the  course  of  this 
affluent  on  a  plan  of  the  district  as  it  is  supposed  to 
have  appeared  in  the  twelfth  century. ^  It  is  here  seen 
to  rise  in  Blois  Pond,  in  the  Portpoole  Manor  Estate  (of 
which  Portpool  Lane,  turning  out  of  Gray's  Inn  Road, 
is  a  reminiscence),  crossing  Holborn  a  little  to  the 
west  of  the  Bars,  and  running  under  the  walls  of  the 
Earl  of  Lincoln's  house,  and  of  Essex  House,  empty- 
ing itself  into  the  Fleet  at  the  south-west  corner  of 
Holborn  Bridge.  The  fact  that  in  the  early  history 
of  Bloomsbury  great  ditches  and  fosses  cut  up  the 
ground,  the  most  considerable  being  Blemund's  Ditch, 
supposed  to  have  been  an  ancient  line  of  fortification, 
dividing  the  parish  of  St.  Giles  from  that  of  Blooms- 
bury,  may  account  for  Stow's  acceptance  of  the  tradi- 
tion. Roland  Dobie,  who  wrote  a  history  of  the  two 
parishes  in  1829,  merely  quotes  what  Stow  says  as  to 
the  existence  of  a  brook,  but  makes  no  comment. 

The  main  source  of  the  Fleet  River  was  a  stream 
fed  by  springs  issuing  from  the  higher  parts  of 
Hampstead  Heath,  and  which  extended  from  Flask 
Walk,  down  a  rather  deep  valley  (since  filled  up),  by 
what  is  now  known  as  Willow  Road,  to  South  End 
Green  and  the  Kentish  Town  Fields.  Other  sources 
were  near,  but  this  was  the  principal  source  of  the 
Holebourne,  or  Fleet  River.  This  stream  was  joined 
by  a  smaller  one  from  the  eastern  side  of  the  Heath 
near  where  the  railway  station  now  is — and  still 
further  east  ran  the  streamlet  from  the  Ken  (or  Caen) 
«  ''A  Chronicle  of  Blemundsbury,"  W.  Blott,  1892. 
44 


The  Holebourne  (or  Fleet) 

Wood    Springs,   joining    the    Fleet    Brook    by   the 
present  Kentish  Town  Road.^ 

It  thus  took  its  rise,  says  Mr.  J.  G.  Waller,^  from 
two  distinct  sources  :  the  western  arm  from  Hamp- 
stead  Ponds,  and  the  eastern  from  Highgate  Ponds 
(which  are  linked  together  by  underground  pipes). 
Continuing  from  his  description,  these  two  arms 
formed  a  junction  at  Hawley  Road,  a  little  above  the 
Regents  Canal.  Keeping  a  nearly  due  southerly 
direction,  and  following  the  windings  of  King^s  Road 
and  Pancras  Road  in  Camden  Town,  the  rivulet 
flowed  on  towards  Battle  Bridge.  It  then  passed 
between  Gray's  Inn  Road  and  Bagnigge  Wells  Road 
(King's  Cross  Road),  where  it  made  a  formidable 
wash.  Turning  towards  Clerkenwell  Green,  it  passed 
the  western  side  of  what  is  now  the  Parcels  Post 
Depot,  once  the  House  of  Correction,  where  it  was 
joined  by  another  stream  rising  near  Russell  Square, 
and  its  course  then  lay  beneath  Ray  Street,  until  it 
reached  Farringdon  Road,  and  thence,  with  few  bend- 
ings,  to  Holborn  Bridge  by  Farringdon  Street,  where 
it  ran  between  high  banks  which,  as  it  neared  its 
outfall,  gradually  fell  away,  until  it  joined  the  Thames 
through  the  low-lying  ground,  now  called  Whitefriars, 
at  a  spot  on  the  west  side  of  the  present  Blackfriars 
Bridge.  In  George  II.'s  reign  the  Fleet  Ditch — it 
was  so  called  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Edward  1.3 — 


"■  "  Hampstead  Wells,"  G.  W.  Potter,  1904,  pp.  3,  4. 

=  J.  G.  Waller,  Trans.  London  and  Middlesex  Arch.  Soc, 
vol.  vi.,  1875. 

3  In  an  Inquisition  held  by  the  Mayor  and  Sheriffs  of 
London — Edward  I.  1277-8 — as  to  property  belonging  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury  near  the  Flete  Ditch. 

45 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

had  become  so  intolerable  by  pollution  that  it  had  to 
be  covered  up  out  of  sight,  and  was  finally  degraded 
to  the  purpose  of  a  sewer.  In  July,  1840,  Mr. 
Anthony  Crosby  accomplished  the  somewhat  hazar- 
dous feat  of  exploring  the  noisome  stream,  while 
collecting  materials  for  a  graphic  history  of  the  Fleet 
River,  but  which  unfortunately  he  did  not  live  to 
finish.  His  drawings  and  manuscripts  were  pur- 
chased for  the  London  Library.  **  There  still 
remain,"  writes  Palmer  (about  1870)  *'a  few  yards 
visible  in  the  parish  (of  Pancras)  where  the  brook 
runs  in  its  native  state.  At  the  back  of  the  Grove  in 
Kentish  Town  Road,  is  a  rill  of  water,  one  of  the 
little  arms  of  the  Fleet,  which  is  yet  clear  and 
untainted." 

The  name  of  the  smallest  of  the  three  brooks — the 
Tybourne — is  made  up  of  pure  Saxon  elements.  In 
the  Charter  of  King  Eadgar,  anno  951  ^  (which  was 
a  confirmatory  grant  of  land  to  the  Collegiate  Church 
of  St.  Peter  at  Westminster),  it  is  written  Teo-burna. 
The  termination  burna  (bourne  or  brook),  is  well 
known,  but  the  prefix  teo  Mr.  Waller  finds  not  so 
easy  to  determine.  However,  the  name  of  the  brook 
being  evidently  suggested  by  its  movements  at  this 
part  of  its  course ;  whether  teo  means  a  duplication, 
as  in  "  two  "  or  "  tie,"  or  the  alternative,  an  enclosure, 
in  allusion  to  its  two  arms  forming  a  delta  enclosing 

^  The  date  of  this  Charter  is  at  least  six  years  before  King 
Eadgar  ascended  the  throne,  according  to  the  Saxon  Chronicle, 
and  ten  years  before  Dunstan,  who  is  called  in  it  Archbishop, 
came  to  the  See  of  Canterbury.  Other  anachronisms  have  been 
pointed  out  in  this  Charter,  which  have  led  to  its  being  con- 
sidered as  the  fabrication  of  the  monks.  (Dugdale's  Mon, 
Angl.,  vol.  i;  p.  266.) 

46 


The  Tybourne 

the  ancient  Thorney    Island ;    either   of  these  inter- 
pretations would  appear  to  be  equally  applicable. 

The  Tybourne  took  its  rise  at  the  southern  side  of 
Hampstead,  in  fields  known  as  *'  Shepherds "  or 
"  Conduit  fields,"  from  a  conduit  which  covered  the 
spring.  The  spring  was  drained  off  early  in  the 
eighteen  hundred  and  eighties  by  the  tunnel  which 
passes  close  by,  through  which  the  Hampstead  (North 
London)  Railway  is  carried.  Following  the  line  of 
Fitzjohn's  Avenue  to  Belsize,  the  stream  then  skirted 
the  west  side  of  Regent's  Park.  Its  course  from  here 
to  Oxford  Street  is  not  marked  on  any  known  map  ; 
a  portion  of  it  only  is  seen  on  one  by  William  Faden 
(1785),  in  which  it  is  shown  as  taking  a  sweep  west- 
wards, bending  round  again  to  the  east,  and  up  to  the 
then  stables  of  the  Horse  Guards,  near  the  site  of 
Baker  Street  Bazaar.  From  here  it  may  be  faintly 
traced  towards  Marylebone  Lane,  which  it  crossed 
twice,  when  it  becomes  again  visible  in  the  maps  of 
Lea  and  Glynne  (1777)  and  others.  Crossing  Oxford 
Street  ^  near  Stratford  Place,  it  made  its  way  by 
Lower  Brook  Street  and  the  foot  of  Hay  Hill  (pos- 
sibly so  called  from  a  farm  in  the  neighbourhood), 
through  Lansdowne  Gardens,  down  Half  Moon 
Street  and  the  hollow  of  Piccadilly,  by  a  diagonal  line 
to  the  Green  Park,  through  which  it  flowed  to  the 
front  of  Buckingham  House,  where  it  was  covered 
in  from  view.  It  then  pursued  its  course  down  what 
are    now    St.    James    Street,    Orchard    Street,   and 

^  The  maps  of  Morden  and  Lea,  dated  1690  and  1700,  show 
that  the  highway  now  called  Oxford  Street  crossed  by  a  bridge 
the  stream  which  in  them  is  nameless,  but  in  later  plans  is 
variously  called  Aye  Brook  or  Tybourne; 

47 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

College  Street,  by  the  walls  of  the  monastery  of 
Westminster,  until  it  fell  into  the  Thames.  The 
other  branch  of  the  Tybourne,  from  the  front  of 
Buckingham  Palace,  swept  westwards,  forming  the 
ancient  boundary  of  the  City  of  Westminster,  crossing 
Vauxhall  Bridge  Road  and  Grosvenor  Road  and 
falling  into  the  Thames. 

In  the  later  plans  and  maps  the  Tybourne  is 
variously  called  Aye  Brook  or  Eye  Brook,  ^  from  the 
ancient  estate  of  Eia,  nearly  900  acres  in  extent, 
which  reached  from  the  Bayswater  Road  to  the 
Thames  :  in  the  survey  by  Morden  and  Lea  {temp, 
William  and  Mary)  it  is  marked  **  A  Brooke,''  and  in 
'•Leland's  Itinerary"  (1770)  **  Mariburne  Brook." 

As  a  proof  of  its  continued  existence,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  in  Oxford  Street  it  was  tapped  by  the 
engineers  of  the  Central  London  Railway,  familiarly 
known  as  the  *' Twopenny  Tube"  (opened  in  1900), 
causing  much  delay  in  their  work.  To  the  proximity 
of  the  same  stream,  St.  Cyprian's  Church,  Glentworth 
Street,  Dorset  Square,  owes  the  great  depth  of  its 
foundations. 

The  Westbourne  was  probably  larger  than  the 
Holebourne;  it  is  marked  "Bayswater  Brook"  in 
Greenwood's  map  of  1824-7.  Some  of  its  tributary 
springs  were  close  to  those  of  the  Tybourne,  so  that, 
as  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Waller,  a  little  difference  in  the 
levels  would  have  made  the  latter  merely  a  tributary. 
The  farthest  of  its  sources  of  supply  was  formerly 
marked  by  a  small  pond  on  the  south-western  side  of 

»  In  the  Grace  Collection  there  is  a  plan  of  Stratford  Place, 
showing  Ayre  {sic)  brook  before  it  was  covered  in.  (Cat.,  p.  100, 
No.  25.) 

48 


The  Westbourne 

Hampstead  Heath.  The  next  was  within  the  village, 
near  Frognal  Estate,  with  an  arch  over  it.  The  main 
stream  flowed  westward  through  meadows  towards 
the  Great  North  Road,  receiving  a  small  affluent, 
the  Kilburn.  Leaving  the  nunnery  of  that  name, 
it  crossed  the  Edgware  Road  beneath  an  ancient 
thirteenth-century  bridge,  into  low-lying  meadows, 
receiving  another  affluent  from  Willesden  Lane.  It 
then  flowed  for  some  distance  in  a  direct  though 
sinuous  course,  when  it  bent  almost  at  right  angles, 
and  following  the  trend  of  the  present  Cambridge  and 
Shirland  Roads,  passed  under  the  Grand  Junction 
Canal.  From  here  it  proceeded  parallel  with  the 
Edgware  Road,  through  the  once  rural  Westbourne 
Green,  a  part  of  which  was  almost  on  the  spot  where 
Royal  Oak  Station  now  is,  and  passed  Craven  Hill  ' 
on  the  west,  where  formerly  stood  the  Pest  House, 
marked  so  prominently  on  Rocque's  map.  It  then 
formed  the  main  body  of  the  water  of  the  Serpentine. 
A  few  words  as  to  the  formation  of  this  fine  sheet 
of  water.  It  is  probably  known  only  to  the  few  that 
It  was  at  the  instigation  of  Queen  Caroline,  Consort 
of  George  II.,  that  the  Westbourne,  or  rather  the 
pools  in  its  bed,  of  which  there  were  eleven  alto- 
gether, was  dammed  up  and  converted  into  a  lake  of 
some  40  acres  (not  50,  as  generally  reputed),  about 
7  furlongs  in  length  by  about  200  yards  in  width 
towards  the  eastern  or  Knightsbridge  end.  It  was 
named,  not  very  appropriately,  the  Serpentine  River, 
though  the  outline  170  years  ago  may  have  presented 
more  frequent  and  serpent-like  windings  than  are  now 

*  One  of  the  places  occupied  by  the  citizens  of   London 
during  the  Plague. 

49  D 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

seen  in  its  course.  The  making  of  it — a  work  of 
some  magnitude — is  described  very  fully  by  Mr. 
W.  L.  Rutton  in  the  Home  Counties  Magazine  for 
1903,  who  goes  into  all  the  minutiae  of  the  charges 
and  expenses  incurred  in  the  work.^  In  Rocque's 
map  (1746)  the  Serpentine  is  called  the  New  River. 
The  Westbourne  continued  to  supply  the  Serpentine 
up  to  1834,  when  it  was  cut  off,  the  water  having 
become  too  impure  for  feeding  it,  owing  to  the  drains 
of  the  houses  finding  their  way  into  the  stream. 
Emerging  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Serpentine,  at  the 
cascade  not  far  from  Hyde  Park  Corner,  the  West- 
bourne  was  crossed  at  Knightsbridge  by  a  stone 
bridge, 2  the  situation  of  which  was  between  Knights- 
bridge Terrace  and  the  house  occupied  as  the  French 
Embassy,  and  a  part  of  it  existed  in  1857  under  the 
road  at  Albert  Gate.  Crossing  the  Great  Western 
Road,  it  passed  along  in  a  line  parallel  with  Sloane 
Street,  behind  the  east  side  of  Lowndes  Square  and 
Cadogan  Square — a  district  named,  up  to  1825,  the 
Five  Fields,  on  which  were  a  few  market  gardens. 
In  R.  Horwood's  plan  of  London  (1799)  it  is  shown 
in  these  parts  dividing  Chelsea  parish  from  St. 
George  s  parish.  Bending  to  the  right,  the  stream 
passed  under  Grosvenor  Bridge,  where  it  divided 
and  emptied  itself  into  the  Thames  near  Ranelagh 
Gardens  by  two  mouths.  The  eastern  course  was 
stopped  up  when  Grosvenor  Canal  was  formed,  the 

'  "The  Making  of  the  Serpentine,"  W.  L.  Rutton,  Home 
Counties  Magazine^  vol.  v.,  1903. 

2  Walford,  in  "Old  and  New  London,"  vol.  iv.,  ed.  1902, 
reproduces  a  drawing  of  the  outfall  of  the  Serpentine  at  Knights- 
bridge in  1880,  from  the  Grace  Collection. 

50 


I 


The  Westbourne 

head  of  which,  forming  a  large  basin,  is  now  entirely 
covered  by  the  Victoria  Railway  Station.  The 
western  mouth  is  the  entrance  to  the  Ranelagh 
Sewer,  into  which  the  stream  had  for  many  years 
degenerated.  By  1856-7  the  whole  of  its  course 
was  covered  in,  although  part  of  it  was  open  so 
late  as  1854.  The  Westbourne  was  occasionally  a 
cause  of  annoyance  to  the  inhabitants  of  Knights- 
bridge  through  its  overflowings  after  heavy  rains  ; 
notably  in  1768,  when  it  did  great  damage,  under- 
mining the  foundations  of  some  of  the  neighbouring 
houses.  I 

The  stream  (or  sewer)  of  the  Westbourne  is  carried 
in  a  large  conduit  over  the  District  Railway  at  Sloane 
Square  Station. 

The  old  maps  of  Middlesex,  e.g.,  those  of  Norden, 
1593  >  Speed,  1 6 10,  which  was  an  augmentation  of 
Norden;  Seller,  17 10;  Morden,  1730;  and  Rocque, 
1 74 1-5,  show  but  two  streams — the  Holebourne  and 
the  Westbourne.  The  Tybourne,  probably  from  its 
being  of  less  volume,  is  not  figured,  although  it  was 
important  at  an  early  period,  as  from  its  springs 
a  supply  of  water  was  conducted  to  London. 

Robins,  in  **  Paddington,  Past  and  Present"  (1853), 
contends  that  the  names  Tybourne  and  Westbourne 
were  given  to  the  same  brook — an  opinion  opposed  to 
those  of  all  others  who  have  studied  the  question. 
It  cannot  be  denied  that  Mr.  Robins  has  laboured 
hard  to  prove  his  case,  and  that  his  arguments  in 
support  of  it  carry  some  weight.  In  the  endeavour 
to  show  that  the  two  streams  were  really  one  and  the 

^  "Memorials  of  the  Hamlet  of  Knightsbridge,"  by  H.  G. 
Davis,  1859,  pp.  20,  21. 

51 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

same,  he  refers  to  an  Act  of  Parliament  so  late  as 
1734,^  in  which  "two  messuages  and  six  acres  of 
land  lying  in  the  common  Fields  of  Westbourn,  in 
the  said  parish  of  Paddington,"  and  three  other  acres 
in  the  same  fields,  are  described  as  being  **  parcel  of 
the  manor  of  Tyburn,  and  called  Byard's  Watering 
Place."  The  Serpentine  he  takes  to  have  been  first 
called  Tybourn,  then  Westbourn,  then  Ranelagh 
Sewer ;  while  the  stream  which  crossed  Oxford 
Street,  west  of  Stratford  Place,  first  bore  the  name 
of  Eyebourn,  then  Tybourn,  then  King's  Scholars 
Pond  Sewer.  The  only  vestige  of  the  Westbourne 
now  remaining  is  to  be  seen  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  St.  Luke's  parish,  Chelsea,  where,  having  become 
a  mere  sewer,  it  empties  itself  into  the  Thames  about 
300  yards  above  Chelsea  Bridge. 

'  7  Geo.  II.,  cap.  xi. 


52 


CHAPTER   III 

HOLY    WELLS    AND    WELL-WORSHIP 

Holy  wells — Enactments  against  offerings  at  springs  in  Saxon 
times — Survival  of  superstitions  relating  to  them — Flower- 
dressing  of  wells  :  a  custom  still  observed  at  Tissington 
in  Derbyshire — Offerings  of  coins — Holy  wells  in  London. 

THE  earliest  historian  of  London — William  Fitz- 
Stephen' — writing  towards  the  end  of  the 
twelfth  century,  presents  us  with  a  vision  of  London 
as  he  saw  it,  and  speaks  enthusiastically  of  the 
cornfields,  pastures,  and  delightful  meadows  in  the 
northern  suburbs,  and  of  certain  excellent  springs 
which  rose  at  a  short  distance  from  the  City,  men- 
tioning in  particular  Holy  Well,  Clerks'  Well,  and 
Clement's  Well  ("fons  sacer,  fons  clericorum,  and  fons 
dementis"),  then  much  frequented  by  scholars  and 
City  youths  in  their  walks  on  summer  evenings.  Stow 
says    that    in    his    time — Elizabeth    to    James    L — 

'  His  graphic  description  of  London  in  the  twelfth  century 
forms  the  preface  to  his  most  important  work,  "Vita  Sancta 
Thomae,"  and  is  entitled  "  Descriptio  Nobilissimae  civitatis 
Londoniae."  It  was  written  between  the  years  1180  and  1182. 
Printed  in  Stow's  "  Survey  of  London,"  in  "  Leland's  Itinerary," 
published  by  Hearne,  third  edition,  1770,  and  by  Dr.  Pegge 
in  1772.  It  also  occurs  in  the  "  Liber  Custumarum,"  vol.  ii., 
Part  I.  (Guildhall  Library). 

53 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

every  street  and  lane  had  ''divers  fay  re  welles  and 
springes,"  which  served  the  City  with  '*  sweet  and  fresh 
water."  To  name  a  few  of  these :  there  were  wells 
of  drinking  water  in  Broad  Street,  at  Aldgate,  at  St. 
Antholin's  Church,  WatHng  Street,  at  St.  Paul's 
Churchyard,  at  the  Grey  Friar's,  at  Aldersgate,  and  in 
many  private  houses.  But  since  Stow's  "  Survey " 
was  completed,  many  destructive  agencies  have  been 
at  work,  particularly  the  Great  Fire  of  1666,  which 
wrought  such  fearful  havoc  in  London,  about  five- 
sixths  of  which  was  laid  waste  ;  so  that  any  well  or 
fountain  within  its  range  was  choked,  and  afterwards 
built  over  and  forgotten.  Those  specified  by  Fitz- 
Stephen,  however,  lay  beyond  the  devastated  area, 
and  thus  escaped  destruction,  and  their  sites  can  even 
now  be  pretty  closely  identified. 

Before  proceeding  with  the  detailed  descriptions, 
there  is  one  feature  in  connection  with  streams  and 
wells  which  cannot  be  altogether  ignored,  and  that 
is  the  prominent  place  they  held  in  former  times 
among  nature-religions.  There  is  an  extensive  litera- 
ture dealing  with  the  folklore  of  holy  wells  and 
streams,  the  subject  having  of  late  years  met  with 
increasing  recognition  from  students  of  anthropology 
and  of  comparative  religions ;  but  this  is  not  the  place 
for  an  examination  into  such  a  wide  field  of  research ; 
and  so  the  reader  need  only  to  be  reminded  here  of 
the  theory  of  the  descent  of  the  churches  from  the  holy 
stones  (circles,  dolmens,  cromlechs,  menhirs,  &c.) 
which  they  replaced,  and  of  the  close  association  of 
wells  with  these  sacred  erections.  A  few  points  may, 
however,  be  touched  upon  relative  to  this  fascinating 
subject.     There   are   instances   of  wells   near    stone 

54 


Holy   Wells   and  Well-worship 

circles  in  Cornwall,  Aberdeenshire,  in  County  Kerry, 
and  in  the  Isle  of  Man.  The  number  of  holy  wells 
and  streams  in  Britain  is  legion.  Mr.  Gomme  says ' 
that  well-worship  prevailed  in  every  county  of  the 
three  kingdoms. 

It  seems  now  to  be  generally  accepted  that  well- 
worship  in  Britain  originated  long  before  the  Christian 
era ;  that  the  Christian  missionaries  found  it  in  vogue 
on  their  arrival,  and  tolerated  it  at  first,  and  utilised  it 
afterwards  for  their  own  ends.^  But  in  the  times  of 
transition  from  paganism  to  Christianity  the  higher 
Christian  authorities  made  protest  against  the  old 
worship,  passing  laws  to  forbid  adoration  and  sacrifice 
to  fountains — as  when  Duke  Bretislav  forbade  the 
still  half-pagan  country-folk  of  Bohemia  to  offer 
libations  and  sacrifice  victims  at  springs,  and  in 
England  there  were  prohibitions  by  the  Saxon  clergy, 
and  Ecgberht  s  Pcenitentiale  proscribes  the  like  rites : 
*'  If  any  man  vow  or  bring  his  offering  to  any  well " — 
**  If  one  holds  his  vigils  at  any  well." 3  But  the  old 
veneration  was  too  strong  to  be  put  down,  and  with  a 
veneer  of  Christianity,  and  the  substitution  of  a  Saint's 
name,  water-worship  has  held  its  own  to  our  day.  To 
prove  this,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  in  remote 
country  places  there  are  to  be  found,  even  now, 
persons  who  openly  avow  their  belief  in  the  miraculous 
properties  of  holy  wells,  although  one  would  suppose 
that  in  these  enlightened  times  such  superstition  could 
hardly  exist.     Yet  as  a  proof  of  the  persistence  of  a 

'  *'  Etymology  in  Folklore,"  1892. 

^  ''Stonehenge  and    other   British   Stone  Monuments,"   Sir 
Norman  Lockyer,  1906. 

3  "  Primitive  Culture,"  E.  B.  Tylor,  1871. 

55 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

deeply  rooted  belief,  there  are  wells  in  some  parts  of 
Cornwall,  for  instance,  which  are  popularly  supposed 
to  possess  supernatural  powers  over  their  votaries.^ 

Streams,  rivers,  fountains,  springs,  and  wells  have 
all  been  accounted  holy,^  and  possessed  each  its 
nymph  or  its  god,  who  exacted  sacrifice  or  offering  of 
some  kind.  Wells  were  sometimes  dressed  with 
flowers,  as  at  the  village  of  Tissington,  near  Ash- 
bourne, in  Derbyshire,  where  the  custom  of  garland- 
dressing  of  the  well  is  still  observed  on  every  anni- 
versary of  the  Ascension.  At  a  well  still  called  Bede's 
Well,  near  Jarrow,  Northumberland,  as  late  as  1740, 
a  custom  prevailed  to  bring  children  troubled  with 
any  disease  or  infirmity.  In  the  south  (Teutonic 
England)  an  example  is  found  where  some  details 
of  local  ritual  are  still  preserved.  This  is  at  Bon- 
church  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  where  on  St.  Boniface's 
Day,  June  5th,  the  well  is  decorated  with  flowers. 3 

In  other  cases  wells  were  resorted  to  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  change  of  weather,  or  good  luck, 
and  to  effect  this  offerings  were  made  to  them  to  pro- 
pitiate their  guardian  gods  and  nymphs.  Coins  have 
been  found  by  the  hundred  in  wells  into  which  they 
were  thrown  in  order  to  read  an  oracle  from  the 
troubling  of  the  waters  :  there  were  superstitions  about 
water  drawn  on  certain  nights  ;  there  were  wishing 
wells,  and  there  were  wakes  of  the  well. 


«  ''  Miraculous  Wells, "  C.  N.  Bennett— Goo^  Words^  Septem- 
ber, 1905. 

*  The  earliest  holy  well  known  to  history  is  the  famous  well  at 
Heliopolis,  where  Ra  used  to  wash  himself,  and  Piankhi,  B.C. 
740,  went  and  washed  his  face  in  it. 

3  "Tour  in  the  Isle  of  Wight,"  Chas.  Tomkins,  1796,  II.  121. 

56 


Holy   Wells  and   Well-worship 

Many  of  the  ancient  holy  wells  were  frequented  by 
people  with  skin  diseases  or  suffering  from  complaints 
of  the  eyes.  This  arose  in  many  cases  from  their 
chalybeate  water — known,  but  not  understood.  "  I 
have  found,"  says  Mr.  T.  W.  Shore,  "sesquioxide 
(now  called  ferric  oxide)  of  iron,  a  common  ingredient 
in  holy  wells,  now  frequented  by  people  for  the 
purpose  of  washing  mangy  dogs  ;  so  greatly  has  the 
character  of  many  of  these  ancient  holy  wells  fallen 
from  their  former  reputation."  ' 

That  some  among  the  historic  wells  in  and  around 
London  were  deemed  sacred  is  evidenced  by  their 
dedication  to  Saints  of  the  early  Christian  faith,  as 
well  as  from  their  close  proximity  to  churches,  e.g., 
those  of  St.  Bride  and  St.  Clement  in  the  west, 
Clerks'  Well  (or  Clerkenwell)  north  of  the  City, 
near  which  was  the  priory  church  of  St.  John  of 
Jerusalem ;  while  eastward  was  the  Holy  Well, 
Shoreditch,  near  the  ancient  Priory  of  Halliwell 
(or  Holywell).  Some  of  the  outlying  districts  of 
the  metropolis,  such  as  Muswell  Hill,  Tottenham 
(St.  Eloy),   and  Ladywell,  also  had  their  holy  wells. 

Having  their  existence  near  some  abbey,  monas- 
tery, or  religious  house,  the  holy  wells  often  formed, 
by  the  attraction  of  real  or  fancied  virtues,  no 
trifling  addition  to  the  revenues  of  the  pious  dwellers 
in  those  sacred  edifices. 

^  ''The  Anglo-Saxon  Settlement  round  London/'  &c.,  by 
T.  W.  Shore,  Trans.  London  and  Middlesex  Arch.  Soc, 
vol.  i.,  1905. 


57 


CHAPTER   IV 

CENTRAL  LONDON  GROUP  OF  WELLS  AND  SPAS 

St.  Bride's  Well — Milton's  lodgings  in  the  churchyard — 
Clement's  Well — Stow's  evidence  as  to  its  position  and 
identification — Allusions  to  it  by  later  writers — Evidence  of 
the  Ordnance  Survey  maps — Holy  Well,  Strand — Remarks 
of  various  observers  regarding  its  true  position — Gray's  Inn 
Lane — Bagnigge  House  and  Wells — Origin  of  the  name — 
Nell  Gwynne  at  Bagnigge  House — Properties  of  the  v^ater 
—Battle  Bridge— Black  Mary's  Hole— St.  Chad's  Well :  its 
many  vicissitudes — Pancras  Wells  and  garden — Visit  of 
Pepys  thereto — Holt  Waters — Sadler's  Music  House  and 
Wells — Sadler  succeeded  by  Miles  and  Forcer — The  Theatre 
and  notable  performers — It  sinks  to  a  low-type  music- 
hall — Islington  Spa,  or  New  Tunbridge  Wells — At  one 
time  a  fashionable  resort — The  proprietor's  house — Rose- 
bery  Avenue — London  Spaw — New  Wells  near  the  latter — 
Priory  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem — Clerks'  Well — Miracle  or 
Mystery  Plays  performed  there — St.  Mary's  Nunnery,  Clerk- 
enwell — Hockley  in  the  Hole — Skinners'  Well — Fagswell 
— Godewell— Loder's  Well— Rad well— Crowder's  Well— 
— Monkswell — St.  Agnes  le  Clere — Well  or  pool — Mineral 
Baths — Perilous  Pond,  later  called  Peerless  Pool — Swim- 
ming-bath and  fishing-pond — Swimming-bath  survived  to 
nineteenth  century. 

ON  the  right  bank  of  the  Fleet,  close  to  its 
outfall  into  the  Thames,  stood  a  large  castel- 
lated building,  half  fortress,  half  palace,  called 
Bridewell,  in  which,  from  the  reign   of  Henry  III., 

58 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

if  not  of  John,  the  sovereigns  of  this  realm  were 
lodged  and  kept  their  Courts.  There  are  few  parti- 
culars of  the  spot  on  which  it  stood,  but  like  the 
neighbouring  Savoy,  it  was  probably  foreshore, 
which,  under  the  riparian  laws,  belonged  to  the 
Crown.  Stow  says :  *'  This  house  of  St.  Bride's, 
of  later  time,  being  left,  and  not  used  by  the  Kings, 
fell  to  ruin,  .  .  .  only  a  fayre  well  remained 
here."  ^  The  palace, ^  described  as  a  stately  and 
beautiful  house,  was  rebuilt  by  Henry  VIII.,  for 
the  reception  and  accommodation  of  the  Emperor 
Charles  V.  and  his  retinue,  when  he  visited  England 
for  the  second  time  in  1522.  In  1553  Edward  VI. 
gave  it  over  to  the  City  of  London,  to  be  used 
as  a  workhouse  for  the  poor,  and  a  house  of  cor- 
rection ''  for  the  strumpet  and  idle  person,  for  the 
rioter  that  consumeth  all,  and  for  the  vagabond 
that  will  abide  in  no  place."  The  old  palace  was 
burnt  down  in  the  Great  Fire.  Many  views  of  it 
are  extant  as  it  appeared  previous  to  its  destruc- 
tion. The  well  was  near  the  church  dedicated  to 
St.  Bridget  (of  which  Bride  is  a  corruption ;  a 
Scottish  or  Irish  saint  who  flourished  in  the 
sixth  century),  and  was  one  of  the  holy  wells  or 
springs  so  numerous  in  London,  the  waters  of 
which  were  supposed  to  possess  peculiar  virtues  if 
taken  at  particular  times.  Whether  the  Well  of 
St.  Bride  was  so  called  after  the  church,  or  whether, 
being  already  there,  it  gave  its  name  to  it,  is 
uncertain,     more    especially    as    the    date     of    the 

^  Strype's  Edition  of  Stow,  1720. 

=^  The  whole  3rd  Act  of  Shakespeare's  play  of  *'  Henry  VIII.'^ 
is  laid  in  the  Palace  of  Bridewell. 

59 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

erection  of  the  first  church  of  St.  Bride  is  not 
known  and  no  mention  of  it  has  been  discovered 
prior  to  the  year  1222.  The  position  of  the  ancient 
well  is  stated  to  have  been  identical  with  that  of 
the  pump  in  a  niche  in  the  eastern  wall  of  the  church- 
yard overhanging  Bride  Lane.  William  Hone,  in  his 
**  E very-Day  Book"  for  1 831,  thus  relates  how  the 
well  became  exhausted :  "  The  last  public  use  of 
the  water  of  St.  Bride's  well  drained  it  so  much 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish  could  not  get 
their  usual  supply.  This  exhaustion  was  caused 
by  a  sudden  demand  on  the  occasion  of  King 
George  IV.  being  crowned  at  Westminster  in  July, 
182 1.  Mr.  Walker,  of  the  Hotel,  No.  10  Bridge 
Street,  Blackfriars,  engaged  a  number  of  men  in 
filling  thousands  of  bottles  with  the  sanctified  fluid 
from  the  cast-iron  pump  over  St.  Bride's  Well, 
in  Bride  Lane."  Beyond  this  there  is  little  else 
to  tell  about  the  well  itself,  but  the  spot  is  hal- 
lowed by  the  memory  of  the  poet  Milton,  who, 
as  his  nephew,  Edward  Philips, ^  records,  lodged 
in  the  churchyard  on  his  return  from  Italy,  about 
August,  1640,  '*  at  the  house  of  one  Russel  a  taylor." 
The  house  itself  was  a  small  tenement,  which  was 
burnt  down  in  1824 :  the  back  part  of  the  old 
office  of  Punch  occupied  its  site. 

There  were  at  least  two  wells  of  importance  in 
the  near  neighbourhood  of  St.  Clement  Danes 
Church,  in  the  Strand.  The  earliest  mention  of 
the  well  of  St.  Clement  was  made  by  the  Anglo- 
Norman  chronicler,  FitzStephen,  in  his  **  History  of 

'  "  Life  of  Milton,"  by  Edward  Philips,  1694,  p.  16. 

60 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

London,"  prefixed  to  his  Life  of  Becket  (written 
between  the  years  1180  and  1182),  where  in  the 
oft-quoted  passage,  he  describes  the  water  as 
**sweete,  wholesome,  and  cleere,"  and  the  spot  as 
being  ''much  frequented  by  scholars  and  youths  of 
the  Citie  in  summer  evenings,  when  they  walk 
forth  to  take  the  aire." 

Turning  to  Stow  (1598),  a  fairly  correct  idea  of  the 
position  of  the  holy  well  may  be  formed  from  his 
remarks.  Referring  to  Clement's  Inn,  he  defines  it  as 
**an  Inne  of  Chancerie,  so  called  because  it  standeth 
near  St.  Clement's  Church,  but  nearer  to  the  faire 
fountain  called  Clement's  Well."  As  to  its  condition 
at  the  time  he  wrote,  he  says  :  **  It  is  yet  faire  and 
curbed  square  with  hard  stone,  and  is  always  kept 
clean  for  common  use.  It  is  always  full  and  never 
wanteth  water."  Seymour  writes  of  it  in  his  **  Survey 
of  London"  (1734-35)  as  "St.  Clement's  pump,  or 
well,  of  note  for  its  excellent  spring  water."  Maitland 
(1756)  says  of  it:  "The  well  is  now  covered,  and  a 
pump  placed  therein  on  the  east  side  of  Clement's  Inn 
and  lower  end  of  St.  Clement's  Lane."  This  appears 
to  be  the  first  specific  reference  to  the  change  from  a 
draw-well  to  a  pump.  Hughson  (1806-09),  and 
Allen  (1827-29)  both  allude  briefly  to  the  well,  but 
the  following  authors  say  nothing  about  it :  Northouck 
"A  New  History  of  London"  (1773);  Pennant, 
"Some  Account  of  London"  (1790  and  1793); 
Malcolm,  "  Londinium  Redivivum"  (1803-07);  and 
Riley,  "  Memorials  of  London  and  London  Life  in 
the  Thirteenth,  Fourteenth,  and  Fifteenth  Centuries  " 
(1868). 

Among  the  more  modern  writers,  John  Sanders  in 

61 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

his  **  Strand"  article,  published  in  Knight's  *'  London" 
(1842),  says  :  *'  The  well  is  now  covered  with  a  pump, 
but  there  still  remains  the  spring,  flowing  as  steadily 
and  freshly  as  ever." 

George  Emerson  (1862),  in  speaking  of  the  Church, 
says:  ''It  stood  near  a  celebrated  well,  which  for 
centuries  was  a  favourite  resort  for  Londoners.  The 
water  was  slightly  medicinal,  and  having  effected 
some  cures,  the  name  Holy  Well  was  applied." 

John  Diprose,  an  old  inhabitant  of  the  parish  of  St. 
Clement  Danes,  in  his  account  of  the  parish  (published 
in  two  volumes  in  1868  and  1876),  has  this  passage 
on  the  subject :  "It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
Holy  Well  was  situated  on  the  side  of  the  Churchyard 
(of  St.  Clement),  facing  Temple  Bar,  for  here  may  be 
seen  a  stone-built  house,  looking  like  a  burial  vault 
above  ground,  which  an  inscription  informs  us  was 
erected  in  1839,  to  prevent  people  using  a  pump  that 
the  inhabitants  had  put  up  in  1807  <^ver  a  remarkable 
well,  which  is  191  feet  deep,  with  150  feet  of  water  in 
it.  Perhaps  this  may  be  the  *  holy  well '  of  bygone 
days,  that  gave  the  name  to  a  street  adjoining." 
Timbs  says  in  his  ''Curiosities  of  London"  (1853), 
"the  holy  well  is  stated  to  be  that  under  the  'Old 
Dog' tavern.  No.  24,  Holywell  Street."  Mr.  Parry, 
an  optician  in  that  street,  and  an  old  inhabitant,  held 
the  same  opinion.  Mr.  Diprose,  on  the  other  hand, 
finds  "  upon  examination,  no  reason  for  supposing 
that  the  holy  well  was  under  the  *  Old  Dog '  tavern, 
there  being  much  older  wells  near  the  spot."  Other 
inhabitants  believe  that  the  ancient  well  was  adjacent 
to  Lyon's  Inn,  which  faced  Newcastle  Street, 
between  Wych  Street  and  Holywell  Street.     In  the 

62 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

Times  of  May  i,  1874,  may  be  found  the  following 
paragraph,  which  reads  like  a  requiem  :  **  Another 
relic  of  Old  London  has  lately  passed  away  ;  the  holy 
well  of  St.  Clement,  on  the  north  of  St.  Clement 
Danes  Church,  has  been  filled  in  and  covered  over 
with  earth  and  rubble,  in  order  to  form  part  of  the 
foundation  of  the  Law  Courts  of  the  future."  On 
the  3rd  of  September  of  the  same  year  (1874)  the 
Standard  refers  to  this  supposed  choking  up  of  the 
old  well,  and  suggests  that  '*  there  had  been  a  mis- 
apprehension, for  the  well,  instead  of  being  choked 
up,  was  delivering  into  the  main  drainage  of  London 
something  like  30,000  gallons  of  water  daily  of 
exquisite  purity.  This  flow  of  water  which  wells  up 
from  the  low-lying  chalk  through  a  fault  in  the 
London  Clay,  will  be  utilised  for  the  new  Law 
Courts."  A  contributor  to  Notes  and  Queries  (9th 
series,  July  29,  1899)  draws  attention  to  the  following 
particulars  from  a  correspondent,  a  Mr.  J.  C.  Asten, 
in  the  Morning  Herald  of  July  5,  1899:  "Having 
lived  at  No.  273,  Strand,  for  thirty  years  from  1858, 
it  may  interest  your  readers  to  know  that  at  the  back 
of  No.  274,  between  that  house  and  Holy  Well  Street, 
there  exists  an  old  well,  which  most  probably  is  the 
*  Holy  Well.*  It  is  now  built  over.  I  and  others 
have  frequently  drunk  the  exceedingly  cool,  bright 
water.  There  was  an  abundance  of  it,  for  in  the  later 
years  a  steam-printer  used  it  to  fill  his  boilers."  An 
interesting  account  of  another  well,  less  likely,  how- 
ever, to  be  the  true  well,  is  given  by  the  late  Mr. 
G.  A.  Sala  in  **  Things  I  have  Seen  and  People  I 
have  Met"  (1894),  who  describes  the  clearing  of  the 
well  which  was  not  under,  but  behind  the  *'  Old  Dog," 

63 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

in  Holy  Well  Street,  where  he  resided  for  some 
months  about  1840.  One  or  two  interesting  things 
turned  up,  amongst  them  being  a  broken  punch  bowl, 
having  a  William  and  Mary  guinea  inserted  at  the 
bottom  ;  a  scrap  of  paper  with  the  words  in  faded  ink, 
**  Oliver  Goldsmith,  13s.  lod.,"  perhaps  a  tavern  score, 
and  a  variety  of  other  articles. 

The  erection  of  the  new  Law  Courts — 1874-82 — 
which,  with  the  piece  of  garden  ground  on  the  western 
side,  cover  a  space  of  nearly  8  acres,  ^  swept  away 
numbers  of  squalid  courts,  alleys,  and  houses,  includ- 
ing a  portion  of  Clement's  Inn,  where  the  well  was. 
Further  west  another  large  area  was  denuded  of 
houses,  by  which  Holywell  Street — demolished  in 
1 90 1 — and  nearly  the  whole  of  Wych  Street  (a  few 
houses  on  its  northern  side  only  being  left),  have  been 
wiped  off  the  map. 

In  order,  if  possible,  to  obtain  some  corroboration 
of  the  Standards  statement  that  the  spring  existed  in 
1874,  the  writer  applied  for  information  on  the  point 
to  the  Clerk  of  Works  2  at  the  Royal  Courts  of 
Justice,  who  wrote  that  he  could  find  no  trace  of  St. 
Clement's  Well,  so  that  the  report  in  the  Times 
(quoted  above)  is  probably  correct.  The  water-supply 
to  the  Courts  of  Justice,  he  adds  in  his  letter  of  June 
13,  1907,  is  from  the  Water  Board's  mains,  and  an 

"  *'The  existing  buildings  cover  5  acres,  and  the  remaining 
2  acres  have  hitherto  formed  the  pleasant  green  space  on  the 
Clement's  Inn  side,  to  the  west.  Two-thirds  of  this  space  is  to 
be  occupied  by  the  new  Court.  The  remaining  one-third  will 
still  remain  open  to  the  public"  {paily  Telegraphy  January  13, 
1909). 

"  Mr.  E.  Carpenter,  who  kindly  communicated  the  informa- 
tion contained  in  the  above  paragraph  to  the  author  by  letter. 

64 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

underground  tank,  used  for  the  steam-engine  boilers, 
situated  between  the  principal  and  east  blocks,  is  filled 
partly  from  the  roofs  and  partly  from  shallow  wells  in 
the  north  (Carey  Street)  area  of  the  building — the 
overflow  running  into  the  drains. 

On  the  Ordnance  Survey  Map,  published  in  1874, 
a  spot  is  marked  on  the  open  space  west  of  the  Law 
Courts  with  the  words  "  Site  of  St.  Clement's  Well  "  : 
this  spot  is  distant  about  200  feet  north  from  the 
Church  of  St.  Clement  Danes,  and  about  90  feet  east 
of  Clement's  Inn  Hall,  which  was  then  standing.  The 
Inn,  with  the  ground  attached  to  it,  was  disposed  of 
not  long  after  1884,  when  the  Society  of  Clement's 
Inn  had  been  disestablished. 

To  the  north  of  the  main  thoroughfare  of  High 
Holborn,  and  rather  more  than  half-way  up  Gray's 
Inn  Road  on  the  east  side,  was  a  well  formerly 
appertaining  to  the  Benedictine  Nunnery  of  St. 
Mary's,  Clerkenwell.  The  way  to  it  is  marked  on 
Agas's  map  of  the  sixteenth  century  as  a  country 
lane  (it  used  to  be  called  Gray's  Inn  Lane),  winding 
pleasantly  between  fields  and  hedgerows,  though, 
strangely  enough,  it  is  recorded  that  it  was  paved  so 
long  ago  as  141 7.  **  I  take  it,"  says  Mr.  Tomlins,  in 
his  ''  Perambulation  of  Islington"  (1858),  **  Bagnigge 
Wells  was  the  Reddewell  or  Reedwell  mentioned  in 
the  Register  of  Clerkenwell."  This  is  doubtless  iden- 
tical with  the  Rad  Well  of  Stow.  That  part  of  the 
road  which  followed  the  course  of  the  Holebourne 
from  Clerkenwell  to  Kentish  Town,  and  lay  in  the 
valley  between  Clerkenwell  and  Battle  Bridge,  was 
called  Bagnigge  Vale,  the  river  there  being  called 
Bagnigge  Wash,  and   the  wall  of  Bagnigge  House, 

65  e 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Bagnigge  Wall.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Bagnigge 
Wells  Road  (afterwards  King's  Cross  Road),  is  partly 
in  Clerkenwell  and  partly  in  St.  Pancras  parish  :  the 
house  itself  was  in  Clerkenwell.  Until  this  part  was 
drained,  a  great  drawback  was  its  liability  to  be  flooded, 
it  having  been  originally  a  swamp.  About  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  even  later,  the  force  of 
the  current  at  Bagnigge  Wells  was  sufficient  to  turn 
the  wheels  of  a  snuff-mill.  The  Fleet  at  Bagnigge 
was  a  river  as  late  as  1 700,  on  which  pleasure-boats 
might  be  seen,  and  there  was  nothing  then  to  impede 
the  torrents  from  the  hills  of  Highgate  and  Hampstead 
from  swelling  its  tide. 

The  name  Bagnigge  must  have  existed  from  very 
early  times,  for  Dr.  Stukeley  found  in  a  Charter  of 
William  de  Ewell  prebendary  of  Vinesbury,  otherwise 
Haliwell,  without  date  but  made  in  the  thirteenth 
century.  Domino  Thoma  de  Basnigge  as  one  of  the 
attesting  witnesses.  There  was  an  old  and  wealthy 
family  of  the  name  of  Bagnigge  residing  in  St.  Pancras 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  to  whom  the  property 
comprising  Bagnigge  House  belonged.  The  old 
gabled  mansion  was,  in  the  time  of  Charles  II., 
literally  in  the  country,  standing  on  the  green  slope  of 
Pentonville  Hill  and  sheltered  on  all  sides,  except  the 
south,  by  the  rising  grounds  of  Primrose  Hill,  Hamp- 
stead, and  Islington. 

Bagnigge  House  is  claimed  by  some  to  have  been 
the  country  residence  of  Nell  Gwynne,  and  there  is 
some  evidence  for  the  belief.  Dr.  E.  F.  Rimbault, 
writing  in  Notes  and  Queries  in  1873,  gives  his  im- 
pressions of  a  visit  to  the  place  in  1828.  "I  have  a 
vivid   recollection,"   he   says,    "of  the   Long   Room, 

6^ 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

originally  the  banquetlng-hall  of  the  old  house — 
measuring  nearly  80  feet  by  30  feet — in  which  Nellie 
entertained  the  King  and  his  brother  the  Duke  of 
York  with  concerts,  breakfasts,  &c.  An  alto-relievo 
bust  in  coloured  delft  of  '  Mrs.  Eleanor  Gwin '  was 
over  a  fireplace.  Old  Thorogood  was  lessee  of  the 
wells  when  I  first  became  acquainted  with  them."  An 
old  building  called  Nell  Gwynne's  Room  stood  in  the 
garden.  Mr.  Samuel  Palmer  in  his  "  History  of  St. 
Pancras"  says:  *'At  what  period  this  property  fell  into 
the  hands  of  Nell  Gwynne  is  unknown,  but  that  she 
occupied  it  either  as  a  tenant — which  is  most  probable 
— or  received  it  as  a  gift  from  her  royal  lover,  is 
certain."  The  late  Mr.  Peter  Cunningham,  on  the 
other  hand,  after  long  and  careful  inquiry  as  to 
the  places  where  she  is  supposed  to  have  lived, 
found  himself  obliged  to  reject  this  as  one  of 
them.^  An  engraving  described  as  Nell  Gwynne's 
house,  when  it  was  in  process  of  demolition  in 
1844  is  given  by  Pinks  (**  History  of  Clerkenwell," 

p.  559).  ^ 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  place  of  old  was  called 
Blessed  Mary's  Well,  but  the  name  of  the  Holy  Virgin 
having  fallen  into  disesteem  after  the  Reformation,  the 
title  was  altered  to  Black  Mary's  Well,  as  it  stands 
upon  Rocque's  map  (1746-48),  and  then  to  Black 
Mary's  Hole,^  which  in  1761  was  described  as  *'  a  few 
straggling  houses  near  the  Cold  Bath  Fields."  There 
are  those  again  who  maintain  that  the  later  appellations 

'  ''  Story  of  Nell  Gwynn,"  Peter  Cunningham  ;  new  edition 
edited  by  Gordon  Goodwin,  1903. 

2  Pinks  says  that  in  the  Poor's-rate  Book  for  1680  one  John 
Giles  is  rated  for  "  Black  Maries." 

67 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

referred  to  one  Mary  Wollaston,i  a  coloured  woman 
whose  occupation  was  attending  at  a  well  on  the 
opposite  eminence  to  Bagnigge,  which  was  among 
the  many  springs  in  the  neighbourhood.  Mr.  Loftie  s 
idea  is  that  the  name  may  be  referred  to  one  of  the 
wooden  Madonnas,  which  were  destroyed  at  the 
Reformation.  The  Black  Virgin  is  still  to  be  found 
in  some  French  churches — **Our  Lady  of  Puy"  being 
black — and  it  is  probable  that  the  origin  of  the  name 
lies  here.  This  group  has  sometimes  been  confused 
with  Bagnigge  Wells,  but  was  apparently  quite  sepa- 
rate, though  not  far  distant. 

The  narrator  of  the  re-discovery  of  the  medicinal 
springs  was  Dr.  John  Bevis,  who  in  1760  published  a 
book  which  he  called  "An  Experimental  Inquiry  con- 
cerning the  Contents,  Qualities,  and  Medicinal  Virtues 
of  the  two  mineral  waters  lately  discovered  at  Bagnigge 
Wells  near  London,"  which,  he  writes,  ''were  got  into 
great  repute." 

It  was  in  the  year  1757  that  the  spot  of  ground 
in  which  the  well  was  sunk  was  let  to  a  gentleman  of 
the  name  of  Hughes,  who  was  "curious  in  gardening, 
and  who  observed  that  the  oftener  he  watered  his 
flowers  from  it  the  worse  they  seemed  to  thrive." 
Tasting  the  water  at  his  request,  Dr.  Bevis  found 
its  flavour  to  be  like  that  of  the  best  German  chaly- 
beates,  having  "an  agreeable  sub-acid  tartness,"  and 
he  proved  it  on  analysis  to  be  rich  in  mineral  contents. 
This  well  was  situated  just  behind  the  house,  and 
was  nearly  two  yards  in  diameter,  the  water  ex- 
ceedingly clear,  and  having  a  sulphurous  smell  as  it 

«  On  her  death  about  1687,  a  Mr.  Walter  Baynes,  of  the  Inner 
Temple,  enclosed  the  spring  by  a  conduit, 

6^ 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

issued  out.  The  water  of  another  well  about  forty 
yards  north  of  the  chalybeate,  was  found  to  possess 
cathartic  properties,  leaving  **a  distinguishable  brackish 
bitterness  on  the  palate."  Dr.  Bevis  describes  this 
one  as  a  powerful  purgative ;  a  less  quantity  being 
required  to  be  taken  than  perhaps  of  any  other  known 
in  England ;  three  half-pint  glasses  sufficing  for  a 
dose  in  most  constitutions.  The  two  wells  were  each 
some  20  feet  in  depth  :  the  water  was  brought  to 
one  point,  and  thence  drawn  from  two  pumps,  enclosed 
within  a  small  erection  called  the  Temple,  consisting  of 
a  roofed  and  circular  kind  of  colonnade,  formed  by  a 
double  row  of  pillars  with  an  interior  balustrade — a 
building  after  the  style  of  the  water-temples  at  the 
Crystal  Palace,  Sydenham.  In  the  centre  of  the 
Temple, was  a  double  pump,  one  cylinder  of  which 
supplied  the  chalybeate  water,  and  the  other  the 
cathartic  water.  The  charge  for  drinking  the  water 
at  the  pump  was  threepence :  half  a  guinea  entitled 
the  visitor  to  Its  use  throughout  the  season.  The 
poor  had  the  water  gratis,  on  producing  a  certificate 
from  a  physician  or  apothecary. 

From  about  1760  till  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  Bagnlgge  Wells  was  a  popular  resort.  Some 
hundreds  of  visitors  were  sometimes  to  be  found  in  the 
morning  for  the  water-drinking.  In  the  afternoon  the 
Long  Room  and  the  gardens  were  thronged  by  tea- 
drinkers,  especially  on  Sundays.  The  grounds  were 
behind  the  Long  Room,  and  were  laid  out  in  formal 
walks  with  hedges  of  box  and  holly.  Arbours  for  tea- 
drinking,  covered  with  honeysuckle  and  sweetbriar, 
surrounded  the  gardens ;  and  there  was  a  rustic 
cottage  and  a  grotto,  the  latter   a  small   castellated 

69 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

building  in  the  form  of  a  hexagon,  decorated  with 
shells,  pebbles,  and  fragments  of  glass.  Among  other 
attractions  of  the  Wells  were  a  bowling-green  and 
skittle-alley.  Three  wooden  bridges  spanned  the  Fleet 
(locally  called  the  Bagnigge  River),  which  flowed 
through  the  grounds,  separating  the  eastern  from  the 
western  portions.  There  were  seats  on  the  banks,  for 
such  as  "chuse  to  smoke,  or  drink  cyder,  ale,  etc., 
which  are  not  permitted  in  other  parts  of  the  garden." 

Hughes,  the  original  proprietor,  appears  to  have  re- 
mained at  the  Wells  till  about  1775  ;  subsequently  a 
Mr.  John  Davis  was  the  lessee,  till  his  death  in  1793. 
In  the  Daily  Advertisement  for  July,  1775,  is  the 
following  characteristic  announcement : — 

**  The  Royal  Bagnigge  Wells,  between  the  Found- 
ling Hospital  and  Islington. — Mr.  Davis,  the  pro- 
prietor, takes  this  method  to  inform  the  publick,  that 
both  the  chalybeate  and  purging  waters  are  in  the 
greatest  perfection  ever  known,  and  may  be  drank  at 
3d.  each  person,  or  delivered  at  the  pump  room  at  8d. 
per  gallon.  They  are  recommended  by  the  most 
eminent  physicians  for  various  disorders,  as  specified 
in  the  handbills.  Likewise  in  a  treatise  written  on 
those  waters  by  the  late  Dr.  Bevis,  dedicated  to  the 
Royal  Society,  and  may  be  had  at  the  bar,  price  is., 
where  ladies  and  gentlemen  may  depend  upon  having 
the  best  tea,  coffee,  hot  loaves,  &c." 

A  curious  little  volume  called  **  A  Sunday  Ramble 
or  Modern  Sabbath- Day  Journey "  (published  circa 
1774)  describes,  among  other  places  of  recreation  near 
town — Bagnigge  Wells,  which,  it  may  be  gathered  had 
in  its  early  days,  little  to  boast  of,  being  "  only  a  small 
ale  house,  seldom  visited  by  persons  of  any  reputa- 

70 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

tion."  Under  Mr.  Davis's  proprietorship  various 
improvements  were  carried  out  in  the  gardens  and 
permanent  buildings,  and  in  his  hands  it  became  one 
of  the  recognised  summer  resorts  of  pleasure-seek- 
ing Londoners.  These  included  people  of  various 
degrees,  with  a  sprinkling  of  aristocracy,  but,  like 
other  tea-gardens  and  spas,  Bagnlgge  was  by  no 
means  over-exclusive  or  select. 

As  a  place  of  entertainment  Bagnigge  Wells  appears 
to  have  been  opened  earlier  than  is  generally  stated, 
for  Dr.  RImbault  pointed  out  in  Notes  and  Queries  in 
1850  that  BIckhams  curious  work,  "  The  Musical  En- 
tertainer" {circa  1738)  contains  an  engraving  of  Tom 
HIppersley,  mounted  in  the  singing  rostrum,  regaling 
the  company  with  a  song. 

Among  some  of  the  versifiers  of  this  period  who 
noticed  Bagnlgge  Wells  was  William  Woty,  a  Grub 
Street  writer,  who  issued  in  1760,  under  the  pseudonym 
of  "J.  Copywell  of  Lincoln's  Inn,"  a  volume  entitled 
*'The  Shrubs  of  Parnassus,"  in  which  the  following 
allusion  is  made  to  the  springs : — 

"...  there  stands  a  dome  superb, 
Hight  Bagnigge,  where  from  our  forefathers  hid, 
Long  have  two  springs  in  dull  stagnation  slept." 

Colman's  prologue  to  Garrick's  "Bon  Ton"  (1775), 
imputes  a  rather  vulgar  tone  to  the  place  : — 

"  Bon  Ton's  the  space  'twixt  Saturday  and  Monday, 
And  riding  in  a  one-horse  chair  on  Sunday : 
'Tis  drinking  tea  on  summer  afternoons 
At  Bagnigge  Wells  with  china  and  gilt  spoons.'' 

In  later  days  Miss  Maria  Edgeworth,  in  one  of  her 

71 


springs.  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

tales,  alludes  to  this  place  somewhat  disparagingly  in 
the  lines : — 

"The  Cits  to  Bagnigge  Wells  repair, 
To  swallow  dust,  and  call  it  air."  ^ 

A  relic  of  the  old  house,  in  the  shape  of  an  inscribed 
stone  tablet  is  mentioned  by  Dr.  Bevis  in  1760  as 
having  been  over  an  old  Gothic  portal,  which  was 
taken  down  about  three  years  previously,  the  tablet 
being  replaced  over  the  door  from  the  high  road  to 
the  house.  It  is  now  built  into  the  wall  between  two 
modern  houses — Nos.  61  and  6^  King's  Cross  Road 
— probably  near  the  north-western  limit  of  the 
gardens,  and  perhaps  recording  the  actual  site  of 
Bagnigge  House.  The  inscription  upon  the  tablet, 
which,  by  the  way,  has  nothing  about  wells  in  it,  is 
as  follows : — 

"THIS    IS   BAGNIGGE    HOUSE   NEARE   THE   PINDER   A  WAKE- 
FEILDE,  1680."=' 

Some  writers  have  inferred  from  this  that  Bagnigge 
Wells  itself  was  a  place  of  entertainment  as  early  as 
1680,  but  there  is  nothing  whatever  to  warrant  this 
conclusion. 

The  principal  proprietors  of  Bagnigge  Wells,  which 
in  the  later  years  of  its  career  frequently  changed 
hands,  were  :  Mr.  Hughes  in  and  after  the  year  1757 
till   about    1775  ;  subsequently  Mr.  John  Davis  was 

^  Quoted  in  "  Every  Night  Book,"  1827,  p.  36. 

2  *'  The  Pindar  of  Wakefield  "  was  the  sign  of  an  old  inn  or 
hostelry  in  Gray's  Inn  Road,  destroyed  by  a  hurricane  in  1723. 
Pindar,  or  Pounder,  meant  bailiff  or  keeper  of  the  pound  to  the 
manor  of  Wakefield. 

72 


tMUi^cmHU  Jic^i^/c/^^ea/,  andwm£ , 
iyte'i^  yiHi^ ^may  nav^e/,  a/rul auk)  duie-; 


BAGNIGGE  WELLS  GARDENS. 

Frontispiece  to  the  Sunday  Ramble  (circa  1774). 


To  face  p.  73. 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

the  lessee,  remaining  for  many  years.  In  1813  Mr. 
Thomas  Salter  took  a  lease  of  the  premises,  and, 
becoming  bankrupt  in  that  year,  Bagnigge  Wells  was 
put  up  for  sale  by  auction  with  everything  belonging 
to  it,  including  the  various  rooms  and  buildings  with 
their  contents,  *'Nell  Gwyn's  house"  being  mentioned. 
The  catalogue  described  the  fixtures  and  fittings 
outside  as  comprising  a  temple,  a  grotto,  arbours, 
boxes  (i.e.,  recesses  for  tea-tables),  200  drinking  tables, 
&c.  In  the  year  following  the  place  was  reopened 
under  Mr.  Stock's  management,  the  grounds  being 
greatly  curtailed.  In  18 18  Mr.  Thorogood  had  the 
wells,  and  sublet  them  to  Mr.  Monkhouse  (from 
White  Conduit  House),  about  1831.  In  or  before 
1833  Richard  Chapman  was  the  proprietor,  and  John 
Hamilton   in   1834  down  to    1841. 

By  the  close  of  George  1 1 1. 's  reign,  the  gardens  had 
been  curtailed  of  all  the  ground  west  of  the  Fleet,  and 
in  spite  of  efforts  made  to  revive  their  popularity  they 
declined  in  public  favour,  or  at  all  events  appealed  to 
visitors  of  an  inferior  class  ;  the  once  fashionable 
resort  sinking  to  the  level  of  a  threepenny  concert- 
room.  The  year  1841  saw  the  last  of  the  entertain- 
ments. On  26th  of  March  of  that  year  there  was  a 
benefit  concert  at  which  only  about  sixty  persons 
were  present — a  sad  falling  off.  Lewis,  in  his  "  History 
of  the  parish  of  St.  Mary,  Islington,"  1842,  describes 
Bagnigge  Wells  as  '*  almost  a  ruin." 

Several  pictures  of  the  wells  are  extant  ;  one  of 
these,  **  drawn  on  ye  spot,"  forms  the  frontispiece  to 
the  *'  Sunday  Ramble  "  (1774-75).  About  the  centre 
of  the  picture  is  a  small,  round  fish-pond,  in  the  midst 
of  which  is  a  fountain  representing  a  Cupid  bestriding 

73 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

a  swan  which  spouts  the  water  from  its  beak.  A 
building  with  a  domed  room  and  vane  above  it  is  the 
well-house.  In  1772  an  aquatinta  print  of  Bagnigge 
Wells,  from  a  painting  by  Saunders,  was  published 
by  J.  R.  Smith.  It  represents  the  interior  of  the 
Long  Room  filled  with  a  gay  and  numerous  company, 
attired  in  the  fashion  of  the  period,  of  whom  some  are 
promenading,  others  are  seated  at  table  partaking  of 
tea.  The  artist  has,  after  the  manner  of  Hogarth, 
well  depicted  the  humours  of  the  motley  company. 

The  final  breaking  up  of  the  place  occurred  in 
1844.  When  Tomlins  wrote  (1858),  the  spring  was 
preserved  in  the  front  garden  of  the  house.  No,  3, 
Spring  Place,  Bagnigge  Wells  Road.  A  modern 
public-house  named  **Ye  Olde  Bagnigge  Wells," 
standing  on  the  west  side  of  King's  Cross  Road,  at 
the  corner  of  Pakenham  Street,  and  the  great  building 
yard  of  Messrs.  Cubitt,  in  the  Gray's  Inn  Road,  now 
occupy  part  of  the  site  of  the  grounds  attached  to 
these  famous  wells.  Their  memory  is  yet  perpetuated 
in  Wells  Street,  nearly  opposite  Mecklenburg  Square. 

At  the  north  end  of  Gray's  Inn  Road,  near  Battle 
Bridge,  which,  as  late  as  1 791,  is  described  as  **a  small 
village  on  the  new  road  from  Islington  to  Tottenham 
Court,'*  was  a  mineral  spring  of  great  antiquity,  for  it 
was  one  of  the  holy  wells,  dedicated  to  St.  Cedd  or 
Ceadda,!  or  St.  Chad,  as  modernised — a  Saint  of  the 
English  Calendar  and  founder  of  the  See  of  Lichfield, 
of  which  he  was  the  first  Bishop. 2     He  is  said  by 

*  Ce  in  Anglo-Saxon  is  pronounced  like  Ch. 
=»  St.  Ceadda  died  a.d.  673,  and  became  in  his  canonisation 
the  patron  saint  of  medicinal  springs  or  wells. 

74 


9.    J 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

tradition  to  have  been  cured  of  some  awful  disease 
by  drinking  the  waters  of  a  well  the  quality  of  which 
those  at  Battle  Bridge  were  supposed  to  resemble. 
Neither  the  precise  time  nor  the  circumstance  of  the 
discovery  of  this  well  have  been  left  on  record,  but 
that  it  was  of  ancient  date  may  be  inferred  from  the 
fact  that,  in  conformity  with  the  custom  of  the  early 
ages,  when  each  spring  had  its  tutelary  saint,  this  well 
was  consecrated  to  St.  Chad. 

It  was  not  till  past  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century  that  the  usual  laudatory  notices  began  to 
appear  in  the  newspapers.  One  of  these,  dated  Sep- 
tember lo,  1762,  which  was  perhaps  the  earliest, 
calls  attention  to  the  great  number  of  persons  who 
drank  the  waters.  Ten  years  later,  April  20,  1772, 
a  newspaper  advertisement  mentions  that  **at  the 
opening  [for  the  season]  of  St.  Chad's  Wells  at  Battle 
Bridge  last  week  upwards  of  a  thousand  persons 
drank  the  waters."  The  well  is  again  mentioned  with 
four  other  London  wells  in  the  Macaroni  and 
Theatrical  Magazine  for  January,  1773,  P*  1^2. 
From  about  the  middle  till  towards  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  the  well  was  in  considerable 
repute,  at  least  locally.  The  gardens  were  then 
tolerably  spacious,  reaching  a  considerable  way  down 
Gray's  Inn  Lane,  and  were  well  stocked  with  fruit- 
trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers. 

The  terms  of  subscription  for  drinking  the  water 
were  £\  per  annum,  and  6d.  each  person,  except  on 
Sundays  when  the  price  was  4d.  The  water  could 
also  be  had  at  is.  per  gallon  or  3d.  per  quart.  It 
was  composed  of  sulphate  of  soda  and  magnesia  in 
large  quantities,  and  of  a  little  iron  held  in  solution  by 

75 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

carbonic  acid  :  these  ingredients  made  the  waters 
**  actively  purgative,  mildly  tonic,  and  powerfully 
diuretic."  One  pint  without  salts  was  deemed 
sufficient  for  most  persons.  The  water  was  heated 
in  a  large  cauldron,  and  thence  drawn  by  a  cock  into 
glasses — a  most  unusual  treatment,  as  the  redeeming 
feature  in  these  waters  is  their  sparkling,  brisk  char- 
acter, which  is  so  refreshing  to  the  palate.  By  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century  St.  Chad's  began  to 
lose  its  fame  as  a  watering-place,  but  it  comes  into 
notice  again  in  1809  as  being  much  resorted  to  by 
the  lower  classes  of  tradespeople  on  Sundays. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  it  had 
a  few  visitors  of  note.  Sir  Allan  Chambr6,  the  judge, 
used  to  take  the  water,  and  Joseph  Munden,  the 
comedian,  when  he  lived  in  Kentish  Town,  was  in  the 
habit  of  visiting  the  well  three  times  a  week.  Mr. 
Alexander  Mensall,  who  kept  the  Gordon  House 
Academy  at  Kentish  Town,  used  to  take  his 
pupils  to  St.  Chads  once  a  week  to  drink  the 
waters,  and  so  save  in  doctor's  bills.  John  Abernethy, 
the  famous  surgeon,  was  also  a   visitor. 

When,  in  1825,  Hone  visited  the  place  he  found 
that  a  general  air  of  neglect  and  dilapidation  per- 
vaded it.  He  records  his  impressions  in  a  mildly 
satirical  vein :  *'  Entering  by  an  elderly  pair  of 
wooden  gates,  a  scene  opens  which  the  unaccustomed 
eye  may  take  for  the  pleasure-ground  of  Giant 
Despair.  Trees  stand  as  if  made  not  to  vegetate, 
clipped  hedges  seem  willing  to  decline,  and  name- 
less weeds  struggle  weakly  upon  unlimited  borders." 
"  On  pacing  the  garden  alleys,  and  peeping  at  the 
places   of  retirement,   you    imagine   the  whole   may 

76 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

have  been  improved  and  beautified  for  the  last 
time  by  some  countryman  of  William  III."  **  If 
you  look  upwards,  you  perceive,  painted  on  an 
octagon  board,  '  Health  Restored  and  Preserved.' 
Further  on,  towards  the  left,  stands  a  low,  old- 
fashioned,  comfortable-looking,  large- windowed  dwell- 
ing, and  ten  to  one  but  there  also  stands  at  the 
open  door  an  ancient,  ailing  female  in  a  black 
bonnet,  a  clean  coloured  cotton  gown,  and  a  check 
apron  ;  .  .  .  this  is  the  Lady  of  the  Well."  This 
rather  lugubrious  dame  divided  the  honours  of  the 
place  with  one  Jonathan  Rhone,  who,  for  nearly 
sixty  years  filled  the  double  ro/e  of  gardener  and 
waiter.  He  was  accustomed  to  give  a  glowing 
description  of  the  gardens  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  he  entered  upon  his  two- 
fold office. 

In  the  years  1828,  1829,  and  1830  handbills 
were  circulated,  setting  forth  in  eulogistic  language, 
the  various  qualities  and  virtues  the  waters  were 
supposed  to  possess,  to  which  the  signature,  "A.  D. 
Sinclair,  M.D."  was  affixed;  by  whom  the  bills  were 
probably  composed.  It  was  apparently  found,  how- 
ever, that  the  mere  excellence  of  the  water  was 
not  of  itself  sufficient  to  "  draw  "  the  public  ;  accord- 
ingly an  extraneous  attraction  was  introduced  in 
the  shape  of  a  temporary  theatre  or  circus  for  the 
exhibition  of  equestrian  feats,  &c.,  which  was 
erected  in  1829,  on  a  part  of  the  grounds,  under 
the  management  of  a  Mr.  Ryan.  In  1833  another 
attempt  at  resuscitation  was  made  by  the  then 
proprietor,  who  announced  by  advertisement  that 
he  had  "  at  considerable  expense,  erected  some  very 

77 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

superior  accommodation  for  visitors,"  &c. — this  con- 
sisted of  a  new  and  larger  pump-room,  which  had 
been  built  in  1832,  the  older  one  having  been 
pulled  down.  In  the  meantime  the  gardens  had 
suffered  considerable  curtailment  by  the  formation 
of  St.  Chad's  Place,  and  by  letting  out  (1830)  a 
portion  of  them  as  a  timber-yard. 

In  September,  1837,  the  dwelling-house,  spring, 
and  garden  were  put  up  to  auction  at  Garraway's 
Coffee  House,  Change  Alley,  Cornhill,  by  their 
proprietor,  a  Mr.  Salter.^  The  next  proprietor, 
William  Lucas,  finding  that  the  celebrity  of  the 
waters  had  for  a  number  of  years  past  been  con- 
fined chiefly  to  the  neighbourhood,  issued  in  1840 
a  pamphlet  and  handbills  in  which  the  water  was 
described  as  perfectly  clear  when  fresh  drawn,  with 
a  slightly  bitter  taste. 2 

St.  Chad's  Well  had  a  longer  life  than  most  of 
the  other  mineral  springs  in  the  vicinity.  It  never 
launched  out  into  dissipation ;  it  was  thoroughly 
respectable,  if  dull.  The  site  is  now  partly  occupied 
by  St.  Chad's  Place,  a  small  street  turning  out  of 
the  Gray's  Inn  Road  and  lying  between  King's 
Cross  Station  of  the  Metropolitan  Underground 
Railway  and  the  Home  and  Colonial  Schools.  The 
pump-room  was  still  in  existence  in  i860,  but  was 
removed  about  that  time  during  the  operations  for 
the  new  Metropolitan  Railway. 

In  a  collection  of  views,  newspaper  cuttings,  &c., 

^  At  the  time  of  the  sale  the  garden  had  been  partly  built  over, 
a  schoolroom  and  shops  occupying  a  portion  of  the  grounds. 

*  Wroth,  "London    Pleasure    Gardens    of  the   Eighteenth 
Century/*  1896,  p.  73. 

78 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

made  by  Mr.  William  Rendle,  is  a  pencil  sketch 
of  the  old  pump-room  and  house,  taken  from 
the  gardens  :  it  is  undated,  but  was  probably  done 
before  1832.  On  the  same  page  is  a  sketch  plan 
of  the  gardens  and  buildings,  dated  1830.  Mr. 
Clinch,  in  "  Marylebone  and  St.  Pancras  "  (1890), 
figures  the  house  as  it  appeared  in  the  year  1850. 
The  words  **  St.  Chad's  Well  "  are  over  the 
upper  windows. 

St.  Pancras  is  now  one  of  the  most  populous 
parishes  in  the  metropolis,  but  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  reign  of  George  III.  open  fields,  with 
uninterrupted  views  of  the  country  beyond,  led 
northwards  to  it  from  Bagnigge  Wells  and  St. 
Chad's.  In  proof  of  the  rural  character  of  the 
district  at  a  still  earlier  period,  the  words  may  be 
quoted  of  the  dramatist  Nash,  in  his  greetings  to 
Kempe  in  the  time  of  Elizabeth :  **  As  many 
allhailes  to  thy  person  as  there  be  haicockes  in 
July  at  Pancredge."  In  a  subsequent  reign  the 
estimable  Samuel  Pepys  made  this  one  of  his  little 
Sunday  jaunts  out  of  town:  "April  23,  1665. — After 
dinner.  Creed  and  we  by  Coach  took  the  ayre  in 
the  fields  beyond  St.  Pancras,  it  raining  now  and 
then,  which  it  seems  is  most  welcome  weather.'* 
The  old  parish  church  is  described  by  Norden  in 
his  **  Speculum  Britannise  "  (1593),  as  standing  alone 
and  utterly  forsaken,  **  old  and  wetherbeaten,  which 
for  the  antiquitie  thereof  it  is  thought  not  to  yeeld 
to  Paules  in  London :  about  this  Church  haue  bin 
manie  buildings,  now  decaied,  leauing  poore  Pancras 
without   companie    or    comfort."      It  was  near   this 

79 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

church,  and,  according  to  Roffe^(i865),  occupying 
the  south  side  of  Church  Hill,  from  Its  base  to  Its 
summit,  that  the  Pancras  Wells  were  situated.  The 
most  notable  feature  of  this  Spa  was  its  garden, 
which  was  very  extensive,  and  laid  out  after  the 
approved  style  of  such  places,  with  long  straight 
walks,  shaded  by  avenues  of  trees.  The  garden 
consisted  of  the  Old  Walk  and  the  New  Plantation 
beyond  it,  both  being  in  rear  and  south  of  the 
wells  buildings.  There  were  in  addition  a  separate 
walk  or  garden,  and  a  hall,  set  apart  for  ladies.  An 
old  Indian-Ink  drawing  in  the  British  Museum  of 
the  wells,  of  about  1700,  showing  the  Long  Room 
(60  feet  by  18  feet),  two  Pump  Rooms  at  its 
west  end,  and  the  House  of  Entertainment  (135 
feet  long),  facing  the  church,  with  the  gardens  in  the 
foreground,  has  been  reproduced  by  Palmer,  Clinch, 
and  Walford.  In  Wroth's  '*  London  Pleasure  Gar- 
dens of  the  Eighteenth  Century"  (1896),  is  a  copy 
of  a  bill  of  St.  Pancras  Wells,  showing  the  wells 
and  the  Adam  and  Eve  Tavern,  near  the  church, 
which  is  similar  to  the  drawing  above  mentioned. 
In  connection  with  the  wells  was  a  tavern  originally 
called  the  **  Horns,"  2  and  its  proprietor,  Edward 
Martin,  issued,  in  1697,  ^  handbill  setting  forth 
the  virtues  of  the  waters,  which  he  declared  to 
have  been  found,  "  by  long  experience,"  a  powerful 
antidote  against  rising  of  the   vapours,  also  against 

'  Edwin  Roffe's  "  Perambulating  Survey  of  St.  Pancras,'^  1865, 
Book  III.,  p.  10. 

»  The  Horns  Tavern  was  just  below  Green  Street,  a 
village  lying  between  the  foot  of  West  Hill  and  Kentish 
Town. 

80 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

stone  and  gravel,  and   as    a  general  and  sovereign 
help  to  nature. 

In  1722  a  proprietor  of  the  wells  complains  that 
the  good  name  of  the  place  had  suffered  by  **  en- 
couraging of  scandalous  company,"  and  making  the 
Long  Room  a  common  dancing-room.  He  undertakes 
to  put  an  end  to  this  state  of  things  by  excluding 
undesirable  characters  from  the  premises. 

An  advertisement,  dated  February  13,  1729,  offered 
**  the  House  commonly  called  Pancridge  Wells,  a 
garden,  stable,  and  other  conveniences,"  to  be  let. 
After  this  Pancras  Wells  seem  to  have  regained  their 
reputation,  advertisements  appearing  in  the  London 
newspapers.  One  of  these  in  the  Country  Journal 
or  the  Craftsman  for  March  7,  1729-30,  informs  the 
public  that  the  "  Pancras,  Bristol,  Bath,  Pyrmont  and 
Spa  waters  are  for  sale  at  Mr.  Richard  Bristow's, 
Goldsmith,  near  Bride  Lane,  Fleet  Street,  those  of 
Pancras  at  six  shillings  a  dozen,  bottles  and  all." 
During  the  next  thirty  or  forty  years  no  particular 
mention  is  made  of  the  Wells.  But  in  June,  1769, 
the  proprietor,  John  Armstrong,  advertised  the  waters 
as  being  **  in  the  greatest  perfection  and  highly 
recommended  by  the  most  eminent  physicians  in  the 
kingdom."  It  seems  that  dinners  were  served,  with 
'*  neat  wines,  curious  punch,  Dorchester,  Marlborough, 
and  Ringwood  beers,"  while  for  those  more  abstemi- 
ously inclined  there  were  syllabubs  to  be  had.  In 
1779  ladies  and  gentlemen  could  enjoy  the  pleasure 
of  drinking  these  waters  for  threepence  each  morning, 
or  be  entitled  to  drink  either  the  purgative  or  chaly- 
beate waters  at  their  pleasure,  during  the  whole  season, 
upon  subscribing  half  a  guinea.     It  was  said  of  the 

81  F 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

waters  that  they  answered  all  the  ends  of  the  **Holt" 
waters,^  with  this  advantage — that  they  were  very 
grateful  to  the  taste,  strengthening  to  the  stomach, 
and  might  be  drunk  at  any  season  of  the  year  with 
equal  success. 

According  to  Lysons,  the  Pancras  water  continued 
in  esteem  till  some  years  before  1795,  but  when  he 
wrote  (1795-1811)  the  well  appears  to  have  been 
enclosed  in  the  garden  of  a  private  house,  near  the 
churchyard,  **  neglected  and  passed  out  of  mind." 
Part  of  the  site  of  the  old  wells  and  walks  was 
formerly  occupied  by  the  houses  in  Church  Row, 
but  these  have  been  swept  away  for  the  premises 
of  the  Midland  Railway  connected  with  the  St. 
Pancras  Terminus. 

The  reaction  which  set  in  with  the  Restoration 
brought  with  it  a  return  to  the  amusements,  harmless  j 
though  some  were,  but  which  had  been  put  down  by  ' 
the  Puritans  with  indiscriminating  severity.^  On  the 
site  of  the  present  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre  stood  one 
of  the  music-houses — prototypes  of  the  modern  music- 
hall.  It  was  a  single-story  wooden  building,  erected 
by  a  Mr.  Sadler,  a  surveyor  of  the  highways,  and 
stood  in  its  own  grounds,  the  New  River  flowing  past 
its  southern  side.  The  digging  of  gravel  for  road- 
making  in  this  part  of  Islington,  or  rather  Clerkenwell, 
had   given   to   it  the  name  of  Sadler's  Hollow,  and 

^  Holt,  near  Rockingham,  Leicestershire.  *'A  spring,  im-  ^ 
pregnated  with  iron  and  aluminous  and  calcareous  salts,  was  1 
discovered  here  in  1728,  and  called  the  Nevill-Holt  water" 
(Lewis's  Topographical  Dictionary,  7th  ed.,  1848). 

*  An  Order  of  ParUament  of  1647  had  suppressed  "  publique 
play-houses,  dancing  on  the  ropes,  and  bear-baitings.'' 

82 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

it  retained  the  name  of  "The  Hollow  in  the  City 
Road"  till  about  1803,  when  it  was  filled  up.  In  the 
year  1683,  some  workmen  employed  by  Sadler,  while 
digging  for  gravel  in  his  garden,  came  upon  ''  a  broad, 
flat  stone,  supported  by  four  oaken  posts,  and  under 
it  a  large  well  of  stone  arched  over  and  curiously 
carved."  This  discovery  no  doubt  gave  origin  to 
the  tradition  that  the  well  had  been  known  many 
centuries  before,  and  had  been  accounted  a  holy  well, 
and  used  as  such  by  the  monks  of  St.  John  s  Priory. 
Sadler,  suspecting  the  water  to  have  medicinal 
properties,  had  it  analysed  by  an  eminent  physician 
in  1684,  who  advised  him  to  brew  beer  with  it.^ 
This  he  did,  with  such  satisfactory  results  that  the 
water  soon  became  famous.  The  "eminent  physician" 
was  a  Dr.  Thomas  Guidot,  who  wrote  a  pamphlet,^ 
under  the  initials  "T.  G.,"  probably  a  mere  puff,  ex- 
tolling the  virtues  of  the  water,  which  he  says  "  has 
a  kind  of  ferruginous  taste,  somewhat  like  Tunbridge, 
but  not  altogether  so  strong  of  the  steel,  and  having 
more  of  a  nitrous  sulphur  flavour  about  it."  This 
similarity  may  have  led  Sadler  to  bestow  the  sub-title 
of  New  Tunbridge  Wells  in  his  prospectus,  causing 
Halliwell-Phillipps  and  other  writers,  following  Lysons 
— excepting  Pinks — to  confound  these  with  Islington 
Spa,  a  little  further  south,  although  the  error  had 
been  exposed  in  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine  iox  1813. 
The  success  of  the  wells  excited  some  jealousy 
among  the  proprietors  of  other  Spas,  and   they  had 

^  At  Stogumber,  in  Somersetshire,  ale  is  made  from  a  spring 
possessed  of  medicinal  virtues,  near  the  village. 

2  "  A  True  and  Exact  Account  of  Sadler's  Wells,  or  the  New 
Mineral  Waters  lately  found  out  at  IsUngton,"  by  T.G.,  1684, 

83 


springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

not  long  been  opened  before  there  appeared  damaging 
statements  in  a  broadside  (1684)  against  them  from 
their  older-established  rivals,  Tunbridge  Wells,  and 
Epsom,!  also  in  *'A  Morning  Ramble,  or  Islington 
Wells  Burlesqt,"  1684;  and  in  Nahum  Tate's  farce 
**  Duke  and  no  Duke,"  printed  in  1685,  reference  is 
made  to  ** Sadler's  pump." 

At  the  height  of  its  celebrity,  when  five  or  six 
hundred  people  visited  it  every  morning,  the  sub- 
scription was  a  guinea  the  season  ;  to  non-subscribers 
and  with  capillaire,  the  water  cost  sixpence  a  glass. 
Dr.  Morton,  a  well-known  physician  at  the  end  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  tells  how  he  himself  was 
cured  by  the  Islington  (Sadler's  Wells)  water,  which 
induced  him  to  recommend  it.  But  at  this  place  the 
wells  seem  always  to  have  been  subordinate  to  the 
theatre ;  they  enjoyed  a  certain  meed  of  popularity, 
but  never  reached  the  fashionable  level  of  Islington 
Spa.  From  about  1687  till  1697  the  place  was 
comparatively  neglected,  and  the  well  fell  into  disuse. 
In  June  of  the  latter  year  a  paragraph  appeared  in 
the  Post  Boy :  "■  Sadler's  excellent  steel  waters  are 
now  open  and  current  again."  How  long  Sadler 
remained  after  his  discovery  of  the  wells  has  never 
been  clearly  ascertained,  the  advertisement  only 
making  use  of  his  name.  Upon  his  retirement  or 
death,  Francis  Forcer,  the  elder,  a  song-writer, 
became  lessee  of  the  Musick-house,  with  one  James 
Miles  (about  the  year  1699),  as  his  partner.  To 
Miles  was  assigned  the  control  of  the  good  cheer : 

*  The  chalybeate  wells  at  Tunbridge  were  discovered  (by  Lord 
North)  in  1606,  and  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  wells  at  Epsom, 
in  i6i8. 

94 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

the   playhouse  was  known  as  Miles's  Musick-house, 
whilst  the  waters  were  still  advertised  as  Sadler's. 

A  low  burlesque  poem  entitled  **The  Walk  to 
Islington,"  by  Ned  Ward,^  published  in  1699,  affords 
some  notion  of  the  performers  and  amusements  here. 
His  description  is  confirmed  by  the  reminiscences 
of  Edward  Macklin,  the  actor,  who  remembered  the 
time  when  the  admission  was  but  threepence,  except 
for  a  few  sixpenny  places  at  the  sides  of  the  stage, 
reserved  for  the  ''quality."  Malcolm,  in  his  *'Lon- 
dinium  Redivivum  "  (1803),  notices  an  application  to 
the  House  of  Commons  from  a  proprietor — probably 
the  younger  Forcer — of  Sadler's  Wells,  certifying  that 
it  was  a  place  of  public  entertainment  as  early  as  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth.  Miles  died  in  1724.  Francis 
Forcer,  the  younger,  notwithstanding  his  culture, 
for  he  was  at  Oxford  and  had  been  called  to  the 
Bar  (in  1703),  celebrated  his  reign  at  Sadler's  Wells 
by  the  introduction  of  nothing  more  intellectual 
than  rope-dancing  and  tumbling.  From  the  Weekly 
Journal  of  March  15,  1 7 1 8,  some  idea  may  be  formed 
of  the  audience  at  that  period  :  **  Sadler's  Wells 
being  lately  opened,  there  is  likely  to  be  a  great 
resort  of  strolling  damsels,  half-pay  Officers,  peripatetic 
tradesmen,  tars,  butchers,  and  others,  that  are  music- 
ally inclined."  Forcer's  application  in  1735  for  a 
licence  for  singing,  dancing,  and  the  sale  of  liquors, 

'  Edward  Ward  (1667-1731),  though  of  low  extraction  and 
little  education,  was  a  man  of  considerable  natural  parts,  and 
with  a  gift  of  humour,  and  though  vulgar  and  often  coarse,  his 
writings  throw  considerable  hght  on  the  social  life  of  the  time 
of  Queen  Anne,  and  especially  on  the  habits  of  various  classes 
in  London.     ("  Dictionary  of  National  Biography.'^) 

8s 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

was  refused  by  the  magistrates,  but  without  active 
interference.  It  was  not  until  after  his  death  in  1744 
that  the  Grand  Jury  of  Middlesex  protested  against 
the  demoralising  influence  of  this  and  similar  places 
of  amusement. 

In  1746,  Rosoman,  by  trade  a  builder,  whose  name 
survives  in  that  of  an  adjoining  street,  was  proprietor 
jointly  with  Hough — according  to  Pinks — and  did 
much  to  revive  the  fortunes  of  the  place,  obtaining 
a  regular  licence  for  the  building  in  1753.  He 
replaced  in  1765  the  old  theatre,  which  had  previously 
been  of  wood,  at  a  cost  of  above  ;^4,ooo  ;  his  is  in 
part  the  building  of  the  present  day.  In  a  bill  of  the 
theatre  of  1773,  tickets  of  admission  for  the  boxes  are 
marked  3s.,  entitling  the  bearer  to  a  pint  of  Port, 
Mountain,  Lisbon,  or  Punch  ;  is.  6d.  was  paid  for  the 
pit,  IS.  for  the  gallery,  and  for  an  additional  6d.  these 
two  classes  could  have  the  same  liquor  as  the  first. 
A  dialogue  in  Miss  Burney's  novel,  "  Evelina"  (1778), 
proves  Sadler's  Wells  to  have  been  one  of  the 
show-places  of  its  time  :  **  Pray,  Cousin,"  said  Mr. 
Branghton,  addressing  the  heroine,  **have  you  been 
at  Sadler's  Wells  yet.^"  *' No,  Sir."  **No!  why 
then  you've  seen  nothing !  " 

There  were  occasions  when  personages  of  high 
rank  attended  the  performances,  among  whom  the 
Duke  and  Duchess  of  York,  the  Duke  and  Duchess 
of  Gloucester,  and  the  Duke  of  Clarence — afterwards 
King  William  IV. — are  mentioned.  In  1821  the 
theatre  was  honoured  by  the  presence  of  Queen 
Caroline. 

The  lonely  situation  of  the  theatre  and  the  law- 
lessness  of  the  times   made   it   necessary  to  guard 

86 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

against  the  unpleasant  attentions  of  footpads.  It  was 
customary  for  people  when  returning  home  at  night 
to  band  themselves  together  and  to  employ  link-boys 
to  light  them  to  the  nearest  streets  of  Islington, 
Clerkenwell,  and  Grays  Inn  Lane. 

Few  theatres  can  show  a  past  of  more  interest  and 
variety  than  Sadler's  Wells,  the  oldest  minor  theatre 
in  London,  having  been  on  the  same  spot  and 
licensed  from  about  1720.  Quite  a  number  of 
eminent  actors  and  dramatists  in  their  day  have 
appeared  upon,  and  written  for,  its  stage.  Amongst 
the  more  notable  were  Charles  Dibdin,  the  elder,  and 
writer  of  sea-songs  (1772),  with  his  sons  Charles 
( 1 801-14)  and  Thomas.  Under  the  proprietorship 
of  Thomas  King,  who  succeeded  Rosoman  after 
1 77 1,  the  entertainments  became  more  thoroughly 
dramatic.  King  was  the  original  Sir  Peter  Teazle 
in  Sheridan's  *'  School  for  Scandal."  He  made  some 
changes  in  the  performances,  and  raised  the  prices  of 
admission.  He  sold  his  share  in  1778  and  was 
followed  by  Richard  Wroughton,  of  Drury  Lane, 
after  whom  William  Siddons  (husband  of  the  great 
tragic  actress)  became  proprietor.  The  Grimaldis, 
father  and  son,  also  appeared  at  this  theatre,  the 
latter  remembered  by  an  older  generation  as  a  famous 
clown,  who  was,  in  fact,  for  some  years  the  life  and 
soul  of  it.  He  took  his  farewell  benefit  in  1828.  In 
1804  Sadler's  Wells  was  known  as  the  **  Aquatic 
Theatre " ;  a  large  tank,  filled  with  water  from  the 
New  River,  occupied  nearly  the  whole  of  the  stage, 
and  plays  were  produced  with  **real  water"  effects. 
But  it  was  Samuel  Phelps  who,  in  conjunction  with 
Mrs.    Warner     and    Thomas    Greenwood,    was    so 

^7 


springs.  Streams,  and    Spas  of  London 

successful  in  filling  this  little  temple  of  the  drama, 
and  in  making  Shakespeare  pay  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  from  1844  to  his  last  season,  1861-62, 
producing  during  that  time  some  thirty  of  the  plays 
— **  Hamlet "  being  performed  four  hundred  times. 
Having  been  closed  for  some  years,  the  whole 
interior  of  the  theatre  was  reconstructed  and  opened 
by  Mrs.  Bateman  in  1879.  Of  late  years  Sadler's 
Wells  has  become  a  home  of  burlesque  and  modern 
comedy.  It  is  now  a  music-hall,  and  the  bills 
announcing  that  the  seats  range  in  price  from  2d. 
to  IS.  for  a  box,  proclaim  the  standing  of  the  house. 
The  name  by  which  it  is  still  known — **01d  Sads  " 
— is  singularly  appropriate  in  its  now  fallen  con- 
dition. 

As  regards  the  position  of  the  well,  Malcolm 
(1803-07)  says — but  the  fact  is  not  elsewhere  authen- 
ticated— that  it  "  was  -  accidentally  rediscovered  some 
time  since  between  the  New  River  and  the  stage 
door,  and  is  said  to  have  been  encircled  with  stone, 
with  a  descent  of  several  steps."  Wilkinson,  writing 
about  the  year  1825,  says:  "  Nearly  in  the  centre  of 
the  coach-yard  is  a  well  of  mineral  water,  covered  by 
a  brick  arch."  Cromwell,  a  few  years  later,  states  : 
**  It  is  known  that  springs  exist  under  the  orchestra 
and  stage,  and  it  seems  probable  that  the  ancient 
healing  fountain   might  be  traced  to  that  situation." 

Rosebery  Avenue,  opened  in  1892,  strikes  through 
this  district  in  a  north-easterly  direction,  passing 
between  the  theatre  and  the  Islington  Spa  house. 
In  the  formation  of  this  road,  an  interesting  tavern, 
the  "Sir  Hugh  Myddelton,"  erected  in  1831,  was 
demolished.     It  stood  on  the  side  of  the  New  River 

88 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

opposite  to  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre,  once  fringed  by 
a  row  of  lofty  poplars,  on  the  site  of  the  "  Myddelton  s 
Head,"  built  as  early  as  1614.  Here  was  the 
meeting-place  of  a  club  of  actors  founded  by  Roso- 
man  in  1753,  and  in  the  bar  was  to  be  seen  a 
painting  introducing  portraits  of  himself  and  of 
some  of  the  actors  and  frequenters  of  the  theatre  ; 
their  names  are  given  in  Pinks'  **  History  of  Clerken- 
well." 

There  is  an  abundance  of  views  of  Sadler's  Wells, 
especially  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Hogarth's 
**  Evening,"  one  of  four  pictures  called  **  Four  Times 
of  the  Day,"  published  in  1738,  shows  a  corner  of  the 
Sir  Hugh  Myddelton  Tavern,  with  projecting  sign- 
board, and  a  part  of  a  building  with  the  words, 
**  Sadler's  Wells"  over  the  door,  but  there  is  a  want 
of  topographical  accuracy  in  the  picture,  which  seems 
only  intended  to  convey  some  idea  of  the  locality  of 
the  supposed  scene.  Pinks  has  a  north  view  of 
Sadler's  Wells  in  1720,  and  Wilkinson's  **  Londina 
Illustrata"  contains  an  engraving  from  a  drawing 
by  R.  C.  Andrews  of  the  south-west  side,  1792,  with 
a  smaller  view  of  the  same  as  it  was  before  1765. 
Many  others  may  be  seen  in  the  Percival  collection 
relating  to  Sadler's  Wells  in  the  British  Museum,  and 
in  the  Grace  collection,  in  which  there  is  a  view  of  the 
Music  House  as  it  appeared  in  1728  (Bickham,  sculp.), 
and  another  in  1731. 

Islington  is  described  by  a  French  traveller  as  **  a 
large  village,  half  a  League  from  London,  where  you 
drink  waters  that  do  you  neither  Good  nor  Harm, 
provided  you  don't  take  too  much  of  them.  There  is 
Gaming,  Walking,  Dancing ;  and  a  Man  may  spend 

89 


springs.  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

an   Hour  there   agreeably  enough.     It  is  not  much 
flock'd  to  by  People  of  Quality."  ^ 

Islington,  like  many  other  place-names,  has  passed 
through  a  variety  of  forms.  It  seems  to  be  a 
vernacular  corruption  of  Yseldon.  Some  have 
referred  the  etymology  to  Isendune,  Hill  of  Iron 
{isen,  A.S.  for  iron  ;  and  dun,  a  hill  fort), 
because  it  is  written  Isendune,  as  well  as  Iseldone,^ 
in  Domesday  Book,  and  particularly  because  sulphuret 
of  iron  has  been  discovered  in  the  district,  besides 
chalybeate  springs.  The  discovery  of  one  of  these 
on  a  spot  to  the  south-east  of  the  New  River  Head, 
dates  from,  or  shortly  before,  the  year  1684,  when  a 
rhyming  advertisement  appeared  referring  to  **  the 
sweet  gardens  and  arbours  of  pleasure  "  at  what  after- 
wards became  a  fashionable  lounge.  It  is  not  known 
precisely  at  what  date  the  chalybeate  spring  was  first 
opened  to  the  public,  but  as  early  as  1685  it  was 
evidently  well  known,  the  following  curious  announce- 
ment appearing  in  the  London  Gazette  of  the  24th  of 
September  in  that  year,  commencing  :  **  Whereas  Mr. 
John  Langley,  of  London,  Merchant,  bought  the 
Rhinoceros  and  Islington  Wells,"  &c. — an  odd  com- 
bination of  purchases  !  An  early  visitor  of  note  here 
was  Evelyn,  who  has  the  following  entry  in  his  Diary 
under  June   11,    1686:  "I  went  to  see    Middelton's 


^  "  Memoirs  and  Observations  in  his  Travels  over  England/* 
by  M.  Misson,  1719,  p.  161  ;  originally  published  in  French  in 
1698.     (British  Museum.) 

=»  In  an  ancient  deed — 8th  Henry  VI.  (1430),  the  spelling  is 
Iseldon,  and  in  the  poem  of  the  "  Turnament  of  Totenham,"  a 
burlesque  on  the  parade  and  fopperies  of  chivalry,  written  prob- 
ably in  1456,  it  is  spelt  Hyssylton. 

90 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

receptacle  of  water  at  the  New  River,  and  the  new 
Spa  Wells  neare."  It  is  possible  that  Sadler's  Wells 
is  meant,  as  the  two  were  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
each  other,  and  were  opened  almost  simultaneously. 
The  original  name  was  Islington  Wells,  but  it  soon 
acquired  the  secondary  title  of  New  Tunbridge  Wells, 
by  which  it  was  generally  known  until  about  1754, 
when  the  name  of  Islington  Spa  came  into  use.  It 
has  furnished  the  subject  of  numerous  poems,  plays, 
songs,  and  satires.  One  of  the  last,  entitled,  *'  Isling- 
ton Wells  or  the  Threepenny  Academy,"  1691,  shows 
in  a  few  lines  the  real  purpose  of  some  of  the  visitors 
in  frequenting  the  place. 


"Of  either  sex  whole  droves  together, 
To  see  and  to  be  seen  flocked  thither, 
To  drink — and  not  to  drink  the  water, 
And  here  promiscuously  to  chatter." 


Contemporary  writers  describe  the  curiously  assorted 
company  frequenting  the  gardens,  which  from  about 
1690  to  1700  were  much  visited.  A  few  valetudi- 
narians might  be  found  as  early  as  seven  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  but  most  of  the  visitors  did  not  come 
till  some  hours  later,  when  the  gardens  would  be  filled 
with  a  gay  and  sometimes  brilliant  concourse,  but  of 
that  mixed  character  commonly  met  with  at  these 
London  resorts.  Rank  and  fashion  rubbed  shoulders 
with  those  who  could  only  ape  their  dress  and 
manners :  the  modish  spark  strutted  on  the  walks, 
his  long  sword  decked  with  ribbons  of  scarlet  or 
blue,  and  ladies  redolent  with  powder  of  orange  or 
jessamine,   talked    scandal   and   discussed   the   latest 

91 


springs.  Streams,  and    Spas  of  London 

fashions.  I  The  gardens,  which  covered  a  large 
extent  of  ground  exceeding  those  of  Sadler's  Wells 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  New  River,  were  planted 
with  limes  and  provided  with  arbours  for  such  as 
preferred  seclusion.  In  addition  to  the  coffee-room 
(40  feet  long)  there  was  a  dancing-room,  and  the 
inevitable  raffling  shop  and  card-room  for  the 
gamblers  and  their  dupes.  The  charge  for  drinking 
the  water  was  threepence,  and  the  garden  was  open 
on  two  or  three  days  in  the  week  from  April  or  May 
till  August.  A  ticket  costing  is.  6d.  gave  admission 
to  the  public  breakfasting,  and  to  the  dancing  from 
eleven  to  three. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  Spa 
seems  to  have  gone  temporarily  out  of  fashion,  and 
in  1 7 14  **The  Field  Spy"  speaks  of  its  forlorn 
appearance  : — 

"  The  ancient  drooping  trees  unprun'd  appear'd  ; 
No  ladies  to  be  seen  ;  no  fiddles  heard." 

In  the  year  1733  a  distinct  revival  took  place,  when 
in  the  months  of  May  and  June  the  Spa  was  visited 
regularly  by  the  Princesses  Amelia  and  Caroline, 
daughters  of  George  II.,  to  drink  the  waters.  On 
some  of  these  occasions  a  royal  salute  of  twenty-one 
guns  was  fired,  and  the  presence  of  royalty  naturally 
attracted  a  great  concourse  of  people  to  the  gardens, 

*  Of  the  characters  singled  out  by  Ward  in  his  poem  entitled, 
"A  Walk  to  Islington,  with  a  Description  of  the  New  Tun- 
bridge  Welles,  Sadler's  Music  House,  &c.,"  1699,  that  of  the 
Beau  is  a  clever  piece  of  verbal  portraiture,  but  too  long  for 
quotation. 

92 


i 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

the  proprietor  taking  on  one  morning  ;^30,  and  six- 
teen hundred  people  are  said  to  have  been  present. ' 
New  Tunbridge  Wells,  for  a  time  at  least,  became 
again  the  vogue.  The  following  extract  from  Mrs. 
Delany's  reminiscences,  which  refers  to  the  year 
before  the  royal  visits,  tends  to  confirm  this  : 
August  7,  1732.  "  Poor  Lady  Sunderland  goes  con- 
stantly to  Islington  Wells,  where  she  meets  abundance 
of  good  company.  These  waters  are  rising  in  fame, 
and  already  pretend  to  vie  with  Tunbridge.  If  they 
are  so  good  it  will  be  very  convenient  to  all  Londoners 
to  have  a  remedy  so  near  at  hand."  Among  other 
distinguished  visitors  was  Beau  Nash. 

The  managers  at  this  time  appear  to  have  con- 
ducted the  place  with  due  propriety.  In  order  to 
preserve  a  proper  decorum,  no  person  of  exceptionable 
character  was  to  be  admitted  to  the  ballroom,  nor 
were  any  dancers  allowed  to  appear  in  masks. 

From  about  1750  to  1770  the  Spa  was  a  good  deal 
frequented  by  water-drinkers  and  visitors,  who  could 
get  pleasant  and  commodious  lodgings  at  the  Wells. 
Dr.  Russel,  who  analysed  the  water,  said  that  it  had 
a  taste  of  iron,  and,  unless  mixed  with  ordinary  water, 
was  apt  to  make  the  drinkers  giddy  and  sleepy.  This 
was  the  experience  of  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu, 
who  takes  credit  for  having  introduced  these  waters  to 
the  beau  monde.  The  letter  of  a  young  lady,  writing 
from  London  to  her  friends  in  June,  1753,  contains 
the  following  reference  to  the  wells  :  "  Yesterday  I 
went  with  Miss to  y^  New  Tunbridge  Wells,  and 

'  The  visits  of  the  Princesses  are  alluded  to  in  a  lyric  poem 
entitled,  "  The  Humours  of  New  Tunbridge  Wells  at  Islington,'* 
London,  1734. 

93 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

think  it  is  a  very  pretty  Romantick  place  and  the 
water  very  much  like  Bath  water,  but  makes  one 
vastly  cold  and  Hungary"  (szc).^ 

In  1770  the  Spa  was  taken  by  Mr.  John  Holland, 
and  from  that  time  the  place  was  popular  as  an  after- 
noon tea-garden.  In  1778  Holland,  having  become 
bankrupt,  was  succeeded  by  a  Mr.  John  Howard,  who 
added  a  bowling-green,  and  introduced  astronomical 
lectures,  and  other  attractions. 

The  gardens  themselves  would  seem  to  have  been 
kept  up  till  the  beginning  of  the  last  century.  The 
author  of  "  Londinium  Redivivum,"  writing  about 
1803,  speaks  of  them  as  being  "really  beautiful; 
pedestals  and  vases  are  grouped  with  taste  under 
some  extremely  picturesque  trees,  whose  foliage  is 
seen  to  much  advantage  from  the  neighbouring 
fields."  2 

About  1 8 10  Howard  found  that,  in  spite  of  all  his 
efforts,  the  popularity  of  the  gardens  waned  :  they  were 
now  reduced  in  size  by  the  formation  of  Charlotte 
Street  (now  Thomas  Street).  A  later  proprietor, 
named  Hardy,  opened  the  gardens  in  1826,  as  a  Spa 
only.  Two  years  later  they  were  still  open,  and  were 
visited  by  Mr.  Thomas  Coull,  the  author  of  the 
"History  and  Traditions  of  Islington"  (1865),  who 
viewed  the  spring  and  drank  the  water  which  **  had 
a  slight  saline  taste  and  a  whitish  hue."  The  yield 
was  then  only  about  two  pailfuls  per  day. 

The  remorseless  hand  of  the  builder  had  been  laid 
upon  the  spot.      The  last   of    the  coffee-house   was 

*  Extract   from    family    correspondence    communicated  by 
C.L.S.  to  Notes  and  Queries^  8th  ser.,  vi.,  1894,  p.  69. 
«  Malcolm,"  Londinium  Redivivum,"  iii.  pp.  230,  231. 

94 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

demolished  in  1 840,  and  the  two  rows  of  small  houses, 
called  Spa  Cottages,  were  built  upon  the  site  of  the 
gardens,  and  are  still  standing.  But  the  old  well  was 
there,  enclosed,  as  formerly,  by  grotto  work.  From 
about  1840-42  a  surgeon  named  Molloy  resided  in 
the  proprietor's  house,  No.  6,  Lloyd's  Row,  where  a 
new  entrance,  facing  the  New  River  Head,  was 
removed  for  the  building  of  Eliza  Place.  Molloy 
dispensed  the  water  to  invalids  for  an  annual  sub- 
scription of  one  guinea,  or  for  sixpence  each  visit. 
He  preserved  the  well  in  an  outbuilding  attached  to 
the  east  side  of  his  house.  The  water  was  not 
advertised  after  his  tenancy,  though  it  continued  to 
flow  as  late  as  i860. 

Mr.  Philip  Norman  has  put  upon  record  a  visit  he 
paid  to  the  place  in  1894,^  when  he  found  what 
remained  of  the  well  in  some  grotto  work,  with  stone 
pilasters,  and  on  each  side  steps  descending.  In  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year  Mr.  Warwick  Wroth  and  his 
brother,  Mr.  A.  E.  Wroth  (joint  authors  of  **  The 
London  Pleasure  Gardens  of  the  Eighteenth  Century  ") 
visited  the  house  and  found  the  outbuilding  occupied 
as  a  dwelling-room  of  a  very  humble  description,  with 
the  grotto  that  had  once  adorned  the  well.  The 
writer  of  these  pages  was  there  twelve  years  later — 
August  5,  1906 — and  was  shown  by  the  occupier  of 
the  outbuilding  forming  the  back  of  No.  6,  Lloyd's 
Row — a  labourer — the  small  room,  triangular  in  shape 
and  only  slightly  below  the  level  of  the  living-room 
out  of  which  it  led,  still  containing  the  grotto  work, 
the  well  being  under  the  flooring  and  long  since  filled 
up. 

*  Notes  and  Queries^  8th  ser.,  vi.,  1894,  p.  457. 
95 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

The  formation  of  Rosebery  Avenue,  by  which 
many  old  landmarks  have  been  swept  away,  necessi- 
tated the  removal  of  Eliza  Place,  and  the  two 
northernmost  of  the  three  little  public  gardens,  opened 
by  the  London  County  Council  on  July  31,  1895,  ^s 
Spa  Green,  are  now  on  part  of  the  site  of  the  old  Spa. 
Under  the  coping  of  the  proprietor's  house  may  still 
be  seen  the  inscription  : — 

"ISLINGTON   SPA,   OR  NEW  TUNBRIDGE   WELLS." 

Near  the  angle  formed  by  Rosoman  and  Exmouth 
Streets,  Clerkenwell,  was  a  plot  of  land  called  Spa 
Fields,  but  earlier  known  as  Ducking  Pond  Fields  ;  ^ 
hunting  ducks  with  spaniels  being  one  of  the  cruel 
pastimes  to  which  our  forefathers  were  addicted.  At 
the  north  corner  of  this  open  space  stood,  in  the 
seventeenth  century,  an  inn  called  the  "Fountain" 
— a  favourite  sign  with  Londoners  before  the  Re- 
formation. About  the  year  1685  a  spring  of  "excellent 
tonic  water  "  was  discovered  on  the  premises,  which 
the  proprietor  at  that  time,  John  Halhed,  vintner, 
held  out  as  a  special  inducement  to  draw  customers 
to  his  house.  The  inn  now  took  the  name  of  the 
"  London  Spaw,"  in  lieu  of  the  "  Fountain,"  its 
inauguration  taking  place  on  July  14,  1685,  by  Robert 
Boyle,  in  the  presence  of  "an  eminent,  knowing, 
and   more   than    ordinary  ingenious  apothecary  .  .  . 

'  There  are  old  prints  representing  these  ducking  sports. 
Pepys,  in  his  Diary,  March  27,  1664,  says  :  "  I  walked  through 
the  Ducking-pond  Fields,  but  they  are  so  altered  since  my 
father  used  to  carry  us  to  Islington  to  the  old  man^s  at  the 
King's  Head,  to  eat  cakes  and  ale,  that  I  did  not  know  where 
was  the  ducking-pond,  nor  where  I  was.'^ 

96 


ISLINGTON   spa;   OR   NEW  TUNBRIDGE  WELLS. 
The  proprietor's  house  in  1907. 


To  face  p.  96. 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

besides  the  said  John  Halhed  and  other  sufficient 
men."  It  had  a  front  towards  Spa  Fields,  forming 
the  corner  house  of  Rosoman's  Row  ;  the  site  of 
the  building  was  about  Nos.  4  and  5  of  the  street 
now  called  by  his  name.  The  waters  were  supplied 
to  the  poor  gratis,  but  to  what  extent  they  were 
imbibed  by  those  who  had  to  pay  for  them  there 
is  no  information  to  show.  The  following  verse  from 
Poor  Robin's  Almanack  for  1733  shows  that  a 
stronger  beverage  was  at  least  in  equal  demand : — 

"Now  sweethearts  with  their  sweethearts  go 
To  Islington,  or  London  Spaw  ; 
Some  go  but  just  to  drink  the  water, 
Some  for  the  ale  which  they  like  better.'^ 

In  the  year  1754  the  proprietor,  George  Dodswell, 
informed  the  public  by  advertisement  that  **  at  the 
London  Spa,  during  the  time  of  the  Welsh  Fair, 
held  in  the  Spa  Field,  will  be  the  usual  entertainment 
of  roast  pork,  with  the  oft-famed  flavoured  Spaw 
Ale,"  and  in  addition  he  promised  his  customers  that 
they  would  receive  the  most  inviting  usage  at  his 
hands.  The  Spaw  ^  ale  appears  to  have  been  of 
such  excellent  quality  that  it  eclipsed  the  fame  of 
the  mineral  water.  Perhaps  it  was  for  this  reason 
that  the  "  London  Spa  "  henceforth  was  merely  fre- 
quented as  a  tavern. 

Cromwell  (1828)  says  the  spring  **  is  now  lost, 
though  water  from  it  was  obtainable  about  eighteen 
years  since  (18 10)  by  means  of  a  pump  remaining 

^  It  seems  that  in  those  days  they  pronounced  Spa  as  Spaw, 
according  to  the  spelling  in  Johnson's  dictionary. 

97  G 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

in  the  cellar  of  the  house  in  question,"  (i.e.y  the 
public-house).  The  ''London  Spa"  has  had  two 
successors,  bearing  the  like  sign  ;  one  built  in  1835 
and  pulled  down  in  1897,  and  finally  the  present 
public-house,  which  fills  the  same  corner  site  as  its 
namesakes  did. 

Mr.  Wroth  mentions  a  rare  bronze  ticket  of  oblong 
form,  incised  with  the  words  **  London  Spaw,  No.  19," 
in  the  possession  of  Mr.  W.  T.  Ready,  the  London 
coin  dealer.  He  adds  that  it  may  belong  to  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  ^ 

An  engraving  of  the  Spa  garden,  forming  the 
frontispiece  to  a  poem  called  "  May  Day,  or  the  Origin 
of  Garlands,"  published  in  1721,  is  reproduced  in 
Wroth's  "  London  Pleasure  Gardens."  Milkmaids 
and  their  swains  are  here  seen  dancing  to  the  music  of 
the  fiddler  on  a  May  Day  in  1720.  On  the  right  of 
the  picture  is  part  of  a  building  and  at  the  back 
rows  of  trees  receding  in  perspective. 

In  Pinks'  "  History  of  Clerkenwell"  there  is  a  general 
view  of  the  "  London  Spa  "  dated  1731,  consisting  of 
an  irregular  group  of  buildings  standing  alone.  In 
front  of  the  houses  is  a  sunken  road,  and  a  clump 
of  trees  behind  the  houses,  which  probably  stand  in 
the  gardens.  Within  a  hundred  yards  or  so  of  the 
''London  Spa"  public-house,  on  a  site  now  filled  up 
by  houses  in  Lower  Rosoman  Street,  Clerkenwell, 
stood  a  popular  place  of  amusement  advertised  as 
"The  New  Wells."  Like  the  Islington  Spa  gardens, 
they  commanded  an  open  prospect  of  the  fields  and 
country  beyond,  but  little  is  recorded  of  the  mineral 

'  "  London  Pleasure  Gardens  of  the   Eighteenth  Century," 
1896. 

98 


I 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

waters,  except  that  they  were  used  to  make  ale  with. 
A  theatre  was  built  in  the  gardens  for  dramatic  and 
other  performances,  the  most  popular  artists  of  the 
day  being  engaged  ;  the  diversions,  as  they  were 
called,  included  rope-dancing,  singing,  and  tumbling. 
The  entertainments  usually  began  at  five  o'clock,  and 
concluded  with  a  farce  or  a  pantomime.  Like  other 
gardens,  those  of  the  New  Wells  were  open  on 
Sunday  evenings,  and  home-brewed  ale  and  porter 
were  retailed  to  the  thirsty  citizens.  Among  the 
miscellaneous  attractions  here  was  a  kind  of  Zoo- 
logical Gardens,  containing  rattlesnakes,  flying 
squirrels,  and  a  crocodile  imported  from  Georgia.  In 
1740  a  Merlin's  Cave  was  added,  probably  in  imita- 
tion of  the  Richmond  Cave,  described  by  Walford 
in  *'  Greater  London."  During  the  season  of  the  same 
year  (1740),  the  grand  denouement  was  a  scenic 
representation  of  the  siege  of  Portobello  by  Admiral 
Vernon.  Among  others  who  acted  here  was  Roso- 
man,  the  well-known  proprietor  of  Sadler's  Wells, 
when  in  June,  1744,  there  was  a  pantomime  in  which 
he  sustained  the  part  of  Harlequin,  in  *VThe  Sorceress, 
or  Harlequin  Savoyard."  The  Daily  Advertiser 
of  June  27,  1744,  says  that  to  see  this  new  entertain- 
ment there  was  a  crowded  and  polite  audience,  and 
that  on  one  night  it  was  performed  to  upwards  of 
seven  hundred  people.  A  more  ambitious  project 
was  the  representation  which  was  given  in  1746  of 
the  battle  of  Culloden  and  the  storming  of  Culloden 
House.  The  partisans  of  the  reigning  monarch 
displayed  their  approval  of  the  piece  by  a  too 
vigorous  application  of  their  canes  upon  the  benches, 
drawing  forth  a  remonstrance  from  the  manager,  at 

99 


springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

that  time  Mr.  Yeates  (or  Yates),  who  regretted  the 
damage  done  to  them,  while  acknowledging  his 
gratification  at  the  applause  manifested. 

About  this  period  Mrs.  Charlotte  Charke  (the 
youngest  daughter  of  Colley  Gibber,  the  dramatist), 
appeared  at  the  wells  as  Mercury  in  the  play  of 
*'  Jupiter  and  Alcymena."  The  season  of  1 750  appears 
to  have  been  the  last  at  the  New  Wells,  as  adver- 
tisements of  them  ceased  to  appear  in  the  public 
prints  from  this  time;  two  years  later  (1752)  the 
proprietor,  Yeates,  let  the  theatre  to  the  Rev. 
John  Wesley,  and  in  May  of  that  year  it  was  con- 
verted into  a  Methodist  tabernacle.  A  few  years 
afterwards  the  theatre  was  pulled  down,  probably  in 
^75^y  when  Rosoman  Row  was  built. 

Unlike  its  near  neighbour  Islington,  Clerkenwell' 
is  not  mentioned  in  Domesday  Book.  The  great 
Priory  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  founded  near  the 
end  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  other  scarcely  less 
important  religious  houses,  formed  the  nucleus  around 
which  this  suburb  gradually  grew,  but  even  when 
Stow  wrote  his  "Survey,"  towards  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  there  was  much  open  country  on 
all  sides.  He  speaks  of  "  the  many  faire  houses  for 
gentlemen  and  others,  now  built  about  this  Priory, 
especially  by  the  highway  towards  Islington,"  adding 
that  **the  fields  here  were  commodious  for  the 
citizens  to  walk  about  and  otherwise  recruit  their 
dulled  spirits  in  the  sweet  and  wholesome  ay  re." 

The    earliest  notice  extant  of   Clerks'  Well    is    to 

'  It  may  be  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  the 
plural  endings  to  some  few  nouns  in  Anglo-Saxon  were  an  or 
en,  hence  Clerken  Well  means  the  Clerks'  Well. 

100 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

be  found  in  FitzStephen's  Chronicle  (czrca  1180-82), 
in  which  he  alludes  to  the  springs  on  the  northern 
side  of  London.  Both  Clerks'  Well  and  Skinners' 
Well,  which  lay  near  it,  have  a  special  interest  and 
importance  in  connection  with  the  forerunners  of 
the  English  drama,  the  so-called  "Miracles" — 
Miracle  or  Mystery  plays — which  had  superseded  the 
profane  Mummeries,  remnants  of  paganism. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  outline  very  briefly  their 
character  and  development,  and  in  so  doing  making 
use  chiefly  of  the  concise  survey  of  the  subject  in 
"The  Tutorial  History  of  English  Literature,"  by  Mr. 
A.  J.  Wyatt  (1907). 

The  material  of  the  Mysteries  was  usually  taken 
from  Biblical  subjects,  and  the  Miracles  consisted  of 
the  legends  of  saints,  in  whose  honour  they  were 
acted.  The  earliest  Miracles  probably  date  from  the 
close  of  the  eleventh  century,  but  none  have  survived 
of  earlier  date  than  the  twelfth,  and  none  entirely 
in  the  vernacular  earlier  than  the  thirteenth.  By 
degrees  the  scene  passed  from  the  church  to  the 
public  place  or  street ;  the  action  developed ;  and 
the  actors  were  priests  supported  by  lay-folk,  or  were 
lay-folk  alone.  The  dialogue  in  these  plays  was 
generally  set  in  rhyming  stanzas,  which  were  probably 
delivered  in  a  kind  of  monotone,  and  this  would 
account  for  the  parish  clerks  being  employed  as 
actors  ;  their  familiarity  with  sacred  subjects  and  their 
proficiency  in  chanting  recitative  specially  fitting  them 
to  take  part  in  such  performances. 

When  the  Miracles  fell  into  lay  hands  alone  they 
increased  in  popular  favour,  and  the  festival  of  Corpus 
Christi,  which  usually  fell  in  June,  from  being  a  holy 

lOI 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

day,  became  a  holiday  devoted  to  the  enactment  of 
Miracles  by  the  various  trade  guilds.  The  Christmas 
and  Easter  scenes,  which  had  originally  been  the 
nucleus  of  the  whole,  were  expanded  until  a  complete 
cycle  of  plays  was  formed,  starting  from  the  Creation 
and  Fall  of  Man,  embracing  certain  Old  Testament 
episodes  bearing  upon  the  Gospel  narrative,  and 
rounding  off  the  whole  with  the  Judgment.  Four  such 
cycles  have  come  down  to  us,  called  respectively  the 
York,  Wakefield,  Chester,  and  Coventry  plays. 

The  York  cycle,  numbering  forty-eight  plays,  dates 
from  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  In  the 
Wakefield  cycle  comic  relief  was  sometimes  given. 
The  Miracle  cycles  continued  to  be  played  till  the  close 
of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  collection  known  as  the  Chester  Mysteries  was 
acted  in  that  city  in  the  year  1327,  and  contains  "The 
Fall  of  Lucifer,"  acted  by  the  Tanners;  ''The  Creation," 
by  the  Drapers  ;  '*  The  Last  Supper,"  by  the  Bakers  ; 
**  The  Resurrection,"  by  the  Skinners,  &c. 

The  Coventry  cycle  contains  allegorical  personages 
which  represent  a  partial  transition  to  the  next  stage 
in  the  development  of  the  drama,  the  Morality  play, 
dating  from  the  fifteenth  century,  in  which  the  char- 
acters were  abstractions  or  allegorical  representations 
of  virtues,  vices,  mental  faculties,  &c.,  such  as  Charity, 
Sin,  Death,  Hope,  Faith,  or  the  like.  Comic  relief 
was  sometimes  provided  in  the  Moralities  by  means  of 
an  Interlude,  which  was  often  acted  by  household 
servants  or  retainers. 

Stow  makes  quaint  allusion  to  the  time-honoured 
custom  of  dramatic  representations  of  sacred  subjects  : 
**The  Parish  Clarkes   in    London  of  old  time  were 

102 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

accustomed  yearely  to  assemble,  and  to  play  some 
large  historie  of  Holy  Scripture."  He  says  that  the 
Skinners'  Well  was  so  called  **  for  that  the  Skinners 
of  London!  held  there  certain  plays  yearly  played 
of  Holy  Scripture."  It  was  here  that  in  1390  the 
clerks  performed  for  three  days  representations  of  the 
**  Passion  of  Our  Lord  and  of  the  Creation  of  the 
World"  before  King  Richard  H.,  his  Queen  and 
Court.  In  1409,  the  tenth  of  Henry  IV.,  there  was 
another  great  performance  which  lasted  eight  days, 
and  "  was  of  matter  from  the  Creation  of  the  World  ; 
there  were  to  see  the  same,  the  most  part  of  the 
nobles  and  gentles  of  England  "  (Stow). 

William  Hone,  writing  of  the  Miracle  Plays  of  the 
Middle  Ages  (1823)2  points  out  that  the  configura- 
tion of  the  ground  was  very  favourable  for  viewing 
the  performances  at  the  wells,  as  there  was  a  rapid 
slope  from  Clerkenwell  Green  down  to  the  valley  of 
the  Fleet,  forming  a  sort  of  natural  amphitheatre, 
whence  the  spectators  could  see  distinctly  all  that 
went  on  below  them. 

The  site  of  Clerks'  Well  is  known.  Stow  says  it 
was  **  not  far  from  the  west  end  of  Clerkenwell 
(parish)  Church,  but  close  without  the  wall  that 
incloseth  it."  In  his  day  some  care  was  evidently 
taken  to  preserve  its  waters  from  the  contamination 
of  surface  drainage.  This  can  be  realised  by  refer- 
ence to  Agas's  pictorial  plan  of  London,   in  which 

^  The  Skinners  were  incorporated  in  the  first  year  of 
Edward  III.  (1327),  and  formed  a  brotherhood  in  the  eighteenth 
of  Richard  II.  (1395).  There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  authority 
for  the  statement  that  the  Skinners  held  plays. 

*  "  Ancient  Mysteries  described,"  &c.,  pp.  206,  207. 

103 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

the  water  is  represented  gushing  from  a  spout  at 
the  south-west  corner  of  St.  Mary's  Nunnery,  and 
falling  into  a  trough,  enclosed  by  a  low  wall — doubtless 
the  curbing  stone  to  which  Stow  refers. 

One  of  the  earliest  events  in  the  modern  history 
of  the  Clerks'  Well  is  the  donation  in  1673  ^^  the 
spring  and  the  plot  of  ground  on  which  it  was  situated, 
by  James,  third  Earl  of  Northampton — whose  family, 
the  Comptons,  occupied  the  old  manor-house  of 
Clerkenwell  till  nearly  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century — for  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the  parish  of 
St.  James.  The  Vestry,  however,  thought  fit  to 
lease  the  spring  *'for  the  benefit  of  the  poor"  to  a 
brewer — John  Crosse.  In  regard  to  this  transaction 
Strype  says  (1720):  **  One  Mr.  Crosse,  a  brewer, 
hath  this  well  enclosed,  but  the  water  runs  from 
him  by  means  of  a  conduit  into  the  said  place  (z.e.y  in 
a  lane  leading  from  Clerkenwell  to  Hockley-in-the- 
Hole).^  It  is  enclosed  with  a  high  wall,  which 
formerly  was  built  to  bound  Clerkenwell  Close  ;  the 
present  well  being  also  enclosed  by  another  lower 
wall  from  the  street.  The  way  to  it  is  through  a 
little  house  which  was  the  watch-house  ;  you  go  down 
a  good  many  steps  to  it.  The  well  had  formerly  iron- 
work and  brass  cocks,  which  are  now  cut  off.  The 
water  spins  through  the  old  wall.  I  was  there  and 
tasted  the  water  and  found  it  excellently  clear,  sweet, 
and  well  tasted."  2 

Wilkinson   has    an    illustration    of    the    pump   in 

^  An  infamous  locality  in  the  eighteenth  century  ;  the  haunt 
of  thieves,  highwaymen,  bull-baiters,  and  backsword  players. 

'  The   Clerks'   Well  was  fifty  years    ago  (about   1858)  still 
marked  by  the  pump. 

104 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

"Londina  Illustrata "  (1825),  as  erected  by  the 
parishioners  in  1800,  near  the  south-east  corner  of 
Ray  Street,  the  spring  from  which  it  was  supplied 
being  4  feet  eastwards.  An  iron  tablet  was  fixed  over 
the  pump  in  the  latter  year  to  commemorate  the  per- 
formances of  the  parish  clerks  of  London  *'  in  remote 
ages,"  and  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  "  the 
water  was  greatly  esteemed  by  the  prior  and  brethren 
of  the  Order  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 
Benedictine  Nuns  in  the  neighbourhood."  The 
Order  was  founded  towards  the  end  of  the  twelfth 
century,  and  it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  well 
survived  down  to  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
or  rather  more  than  seven  hundred  years. 

Mr.  John  Ashton,  in  his  entertaining  book  on  the 
Fleet,  ^  says,  with  reference  to  the  Clerks'  Well :  **  The 
well,  alas,  is  no  more — but  when  I  say  that,  I  mean 
that  it  is  no  longer  available  to  the  public.  That  it 
does  exist,  is  well  known  to  the  occupier  of  the  house 
where  it  formerly  was  in  use,  for  the  basement  has 
frequently  to  be  pumped  dry."  More  recently  Mr. 
Philip  Norman  records  the  fact  of  its  existence  in  his 
book  on  '*  London  Signs  and  Inscriptions  "  (1897)  in 
these  words :  "  The  well  still  exists,  covered  by  a 
massive  brick  arch,  under  the  floor  of  No.  18, 
Farringdon  Road — formerly  the  parish  watch-house. 
This  quaint  little  tenement  is  now  to  be  let  on 
building  lease." 

Stow's  authority,  we  are  informed  by  Mr.  Kingsford 

(vol.  ii.,  Notes,  p.  272),  for  the  history  of  the  Clerk- 

enwell  group  of  wells  is  the  Cartulary  of  the  Priory 

of  the  Nuns  of  Clerkenwell  (Cotton  MS.   Faustina, 

«  "  The  Fleet :  its  River,  Prison,  and  Marriages,"  1888,  p.  183. 

105 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

B  XL).     The  most  important  document  is  one  dated 
1 197,  relating  to  the  donations  of  Lecia  de  Montigny, 
widow  of  Henry  Foliot,  and  daughter  of  John  Briset, 
the  founder  ;  this  is  printed  by  Dugdale  (No.  xv.  in 
"Mon.   Angl,"  iv.  S^),  and  Feet  of  Fines,  7  and  8 
Ric.  I.,  No.  136,  Pipe  Roll  Soc.  20.     Skinners'  Well 
is  there  described  as  lying  in  the  valley  between  the 
Nun's    Priory   and  the   Holeburn,    in   which    was   a 
large  fish-pond.      The  same  document  also  mentions 
Faggeswell — **  near  unto  Smithfield  by  Charterhouse, 
lately   dammed   up"  (Stow).     In  11 97  certain  lands 
are   described   as   lying   between  the  garden  of  the 
Hospitallers  and  Smithfield  Bar  '*  super  rivulum  de 
Fackeswell,"  and  other  lands  as  between  that  brook 
and  *'  Chikennelane  "  (Feet  of  Fines,  u^  supra).     This 
fixes  the  position  of  Faggeswell   Brook   as  approxi- 
mately at  the  boundary  of  the  City.     The  Todwell ' 
of  Stow   is   a    misreading   by    him    of   Cotton    MS. 
Faustina,  B  XI.,  f.  27,  where  certain  land  is  described 
as  "  inter  Skinners'  well  et  Godewelle,  subtus  viam 
usque  in  Holeburn."     In  Feet  of  Fines  (m,s.)  Gode- 
well    is    described   as    between    the    Priory   and  the 
Holeburne ;   apparently  somewhat  to  the  south  and 
on  the  far  side  of  the  valley.     The  original  Charter 
of  Incorporation   was,  as  already  stated,  granted  to 
the  Skinners  in  the  first  year  of  King  Edward  III. 
(1327),  but  for  the   well  to  have  been  named  after 
them,  they  must  have  existed  as  a  guild  or  society 
many  years  before  the  granting  of  their  first  charter. 
Strype,  in  his   continuation   of  Stow's  **  Survey  "  ^ 

^  Reading  from  manuscript,  the  letters  *'  T  "  and  '*  G  "  would 
be  easily  confounded. 

*  Vol.  ii.,  Book  iv.,  chap.  iii.  p.  69. 

106 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

(1720),  says:  **  Skinners'  Well  is  almost  quite  lost, 
and  so  it  was  in  Stow's  time.  But  I  am  certainly 
informed  by  a  knowing  parishioner  that  it  lies  to  the 
west  of  the  church  (of  St.  James,  Clerkenwell), 
enclosed  within  certain  houses  there."  The  parish 
would  fain  recover  the  well  again,  but  cannot  tell 
where  the  pipes  lie.  But  Dr.  Rogers,  who  formerly 
lived  in  an  house  there,  showed  Mr.  Edmund 
Howard,  late  churchwarden,  marks  in  a  wall  in  the 
close  where,  as  he  affirmed,  the  pipes  lay,  that  it 
might  be  known  after  his  death." 

The  exact  site  of  Skinners'  Well  is  not  now  known. 

As  to  Loders  Well ;  about  the  year  1200  Muriel  de 
Montigny  gave  the  **  fons  qui  vocatur  Lodderswell  " 
to  the  Nuns  of  Clerkenwell,  with  a  right-of-way 
thereto  from  the  Priory   (Cartulary,  f.  32  vo.). 

What  little  information  there  is  about  Radwell 
comes  from  the  same  source,  *  *  terram  quam  Osbertus 
tenuit  in  Redwell "  (Cartulary  ff.  6,  39).  The  refer- 
ence, Mr.  Kingsford  remarks  in  his  edition  of 
Stow,  is  apparently  to  Radwell,  in  Hertfordshire. 
Its  synonyms  were  Rode  Well  and  Rede  Well. 

In  Stow's  time  all  these  wells,  excepting  Clerks' 
Well,  and  Skinners'  Well  were  '*  decayed  and  so  filled 
up  that  their  places  are  hardly  now  discerned." 

Crowder's  Well  is  described  by  Childrey  ("  Britannia 
Baconica,"  1661)  as  at  the  back  side  of  St.  Giles  by 
Cripplegate,  and  as  having  **  a  very  pleasant  taste 
like  that  of  new  milk,  and  very  good  for  sore  eyes." 

There  was  also  Monk  Well,  now  remembered  in 
Monkwell  Street.  The  origin  will  be  found  by 
dipping  for  a  moment  into  medieval  history.  By 
indenture   dated  on   the   Nativity   (1347)   the    Lady 

107 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Mary  de  St.  Pol,  Countess  of  Pembroke,  granted  to 
the  Abbot  and  Convent  of  the  Cistercian  Abbey  of 
Garendon,  in  Leicestershire,  two  tenements  which  she 
possessed,  one  in  Fleet  Street,  the  other  in  Shere- 
bourne  Lane.  In  return  for  these  the  Abbot  and 
Convent  were  to  maintain  one  monk  in  a  hermitage 
near  Cripplegate,  to  pray  for  the  soul  of  Aymer  de 
Valence,  late  Earl  of  Pembroke,  &c.i 

A  litde  to  the  west  is  Well  Street,  for  there  was 
also  a  St.  Giles's  Well. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
district  about  Tabernacle  and  Paul  Streets  was  known 
as  St.  Agnes  le  Clear,  from  a  celebrated  well  or  pool 
of  that  name  near  Old  Street.  The  well  and  district 
have  been  variously  called  Dame  Annis  the  Clear 
(Stow),  Anniseed  Clear  (Defoe),  and  Agnes  le  Clair. 
The  streets  at  present  comprising  the  district  are 
almost  entirely  given  up  to  business  houses,  ware- 
houses, manufacturing  houses,  and  offices.  In  a 
survey  of  1567,  Bonhill  (or  Bunhill),  one  of  the 
three  great  fields  of  the  Manor  of  Finsbury,  is 
described  as  abutting  on  Chiswell  Street  on  the 
south,  and  on  the  north  on  the  "  highway  that  leadeth 
from  Wenlock's  burn  to  the  well  called  Dame  Agnes 
the  Cleere."  Maitland,  in  his  "  History  of  London  " 
(edition  1756),  alludes  to  St.  Agnes  le  Clair  as  the 
"  celebrated  spring  at  the  entrance  to  the  small  village 
of  Hoxton."  To  be  more  exact,  it  lay  at  the  Old 
Street  end  of  Paul  Street,  the  northern  extremity  of 
Wilson  Street,  Finsbury  Square.  It  was  anciently 
in  great  esteem  from  the  plentiful  supply  and  sweet- 

*  "  Monasticon  Anglicanum,"  Dugdale,  v.  328-330. 
108 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

ness  of  its  water.  In  Henry  VIII.'s  reign,  when  the 
fervour  of  the  Reformation  was  just  setting  in,  the 
prefix  "  Saint "  was  dropped,  and  the  spring  was 
rechristened  *'  Dame  Agnes  k  Clere."  The  following 
curious  dialogue  between  a  country  gentleman  and 
a  citizen  occurs  in  **  The  Pleasant  Walks  of  Moore 
Fields"  (1607),  placing  the  existence  of  the  spring  as 
far  back  as  the  thirteenth  or  fourteenth  century,  and 
Stow  gives  this  as  the  legend  from  which  the  name 
arose  : — 

"  Country  Gent.  But,  Sir,  here  are  stones  set  upright ; 
what  is  the  meaning  of  them  ? 

Citizen.  Marry  !  where  they  stand  runs  a  Spring  called 
Dame  Annis  le  Cleare,  after  the  name  of  a  rich  London 
Widow,  Annis  Clare,  who,  matching  herself  with  a  riotous 
Courtier  in  the  time  of  Edward  I.,  he  vainly  consumed  all 
her  wealth :  there  she  drowned  herself,  being  then  but  a 
shallow  ditch  or  running  water." 

Ben  Jonson's  Comedy  of  **  Bartholomew  Fair"^ 
contains  a  reference  to  this  spring.  In  Act  lii., 
Scene  i,  one  of  the  characters,  Captain  Whit,  delivers 
himself  thus  :  "A  delicate  show-pig,  little  mistress, 
with  shweet  sauce,  and  crackling,  like  de  bay-leaf 
i'  de  fire,  la !  tou  shalt  ha'  de  clean  side  o'  de  table- 
clot,  and  di  glass  vashed  with  phatersh  (waters)  of 
Dame  Annesh  Cleare." 

Among  the  surveys  taken  by  the  Parliament  in 
1650,  the  well  is  stated  to  have  lain  upon  waste  lands 
*'  late  belonging  to  *  Charles  Stuart,'  sometime  King  of 
England  " — in  other  words,  Crown  lands — and  was 
environed  with  a  brick  wall.  The  well  was  18  feet 
deep,    and  the  waters  were   said   to   be   valuable    in 

^  "  Bartholomew  Fair "  was  produced  at  the  Hope  Theatre 
on  the  Bank-side  (Southwark),  October  31,  16 14. 

109 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

rheumatic  and  nervous  cases.  In  digging  the  founda- 
tions for  repairs  towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  many  ancient  copper  coins,  lachrymatories  ^ 
(tear  bottles),  and  other  antiquities  were  discovered — 
probably  votive  offerings  made  in  earlier  times  to  the 
guardian  spirit  of  the  well. 

During  the  eighteenth  century  advertisements 
appeared  at  intervals  calling  attention  to  the  virtues 
of  the  mineral  spring,  and  of  the  baths,  which  were 
opened  apparently  in  1731,  as  some  time  in  that  year 
notice  was  given — **  That  there  is  now  opened  at 
St.  Agnes  le  Clear,  near  Hoxton,  not  far  from  Moor- 
fields,  the  place  formerly  distinguished  by  the  sign  of 
the  '  Sun  and  Pool  of  Bethesda,'  A  New  Cold  Bath, 
larger  and  more  commodious  than  any  in  or  about 
London,  being  30  feet  long,  20  feet  broad,  and 
4  feet  6  inches  deep,  the  water  continually  running; 
where  ladies  and  gentlemen  may  depend  upon  suitable 
accommodation  and  attendance.'*  Then  follows  a 
long  catalogue  of  diseases,  all  of  which  were  curable 
by  drinking  the  waters  :  for  cutaneous  eruptions  and 
for  inflammation  and  weakness  of  the  eyes  they  were 
doubtless  efficacious. 

In  1748  the  proprietor  of  the  Baths,  a  Mr.  Payne, 
complains  through  the  newspapers  of  the  robbery 
from  his  garden  of  shells  out  of  the  rock-work,  of 
artificial  fruit-trees,  and  of  two  swans  made  of  glass, 
taken  out  of  the  basin  of  the  fountain.  A  guinea  was 
offered  for  the  discovery  of  the  person  or  persons 

^  Their  real  use  was  to  hold  perfumes  or  ointments.  Many 
of  these  little  vessels  have  been  found  in  London  associated 
w^ith  other  relics  of  the  Roman  occupation,  examples  of  which 
may  be  seen  in  the  Guildhall  Museum. 

no 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

concerned  in  the  theft.  Other  advertisements  are 
preserved  in  the  Rendle  Collection  ;  one  of  these, 
from  a  newspaper  of  1756,  speaks  of  the  place  as 
*'the  original  Cold  Bath  at  St.  Agnes  le  Clair,  a 
spring  much  applauded  by  the  learned  physicians  of 
old,  and  now  greatly  extolled  by  the  most  eminent 
professors  of  this  age,"  &c.  In  another  of  January  27, 
1778,  the  Baths  are  advertised  as  *\ Rebuilt  and 
generally  allowed  to  be  the  completest  Ladies'  and 
Gentlemen's  Cold  Baths  in  or  about  London. 

A  handbill  of  June  19,  1834,  is  headed  by  an 
engraving  of  the  front  elevation  of  the  Baths,  having 
over  the  windows  the  inscription  "St.  Agnes  le  Clair 
Mineral  Baths."  The  house  consisted  of  not  less 
than  twelve  or  fourteen  rooms.  The  spring  flowed 
constantly  at  the  rate  of  10,000  gallons  every  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  remained  at  the  same  temperature  at 
all  seasons  of  the  year.  The  terms  of  subscription  at 
this  time  were  :  For  cold  baths  per  annum,  £\  5s.  ; 
a  single  bath  was  is.  ;  warm  and  vapour  baths 
could  also  be  had  at  2s.  6d.  and  5s.  each  bath 
respectively. 

On  November  16,  1845,  a  destructive  fire  occurred 
in  which  nearly  the  whole  of  the  front  dwelling-house 
was  consumed,  as  well  as  its  contents,  besides  damage 
being  done  to  the  baths  at  the  back.  The  premises 
were  then  tenanted  by  a  Mrs.  R.  M.  Moore.  A 
memorandum  on  the  same  page  from  which  the  above 
particulars  are  taken,  states  that  *'  the  site  of  St. 
Agnes  Le  Clair  Baths  has  not  been  restored  to  its 
original  use ;  it  is  now  occupied  by  two  shops — the 
well  is  still  running,  the  water  being  used  in  a  drug 
mill."     This  was  written  in  1852.     Till  within  recent 

III 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

times  the  portion  of  Old  Street  between  the  City 
Road  and  Hoxton  was  called  St.  Agnes  le  Clare 
Street,  and  there  is  still  in  the  neighbourhood  a 
St.  Agnes  Terrace. 

*'  Not  far  from  Dame  Annis  the  Clear,"  says  Stow, 
"  is  also  one  other  clear  water  called  Perilous  Pond, 
because  divers  youths  by  swimming  therein  have 
been  drowned."  Its  position  was  immediately  behind 
St.  Luke's  Hospital,  in  Old  Street.  The  pond  or 
pool  was  filled  by  one  of  the  ancient  springs  which 
overflowed  and  supplied  that  part  of  London  with 
water  at  a  time  when  the  citizens  conveyed  their  water 
by  wooden  pipe  conduits.  Early  in  the  seventeenth 
century  it  was  apparently  resorted  to  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  duck-hunting :  **  Let  your  boy  lead  his 
water-spaniel  along,  and  we'll  show  you  the  bravest 
sport  at  Parlous  ^  Pond."  ^ 

The  place  having  been  closed  for  some  years  on 
account  of  the  danger  to  bathers,  it  was  reopened 
in  the  year  1743  by  William  Kemp,  "an  eminent 
citizen  and  jeweller,"  who  discarded  the  unlucky  word 
**  Perilous  "  for  *'  Peerless."  The  open-air  bath  con- 
structed by  him  was  170  feet  long  by  100  feet  wide, 
and  nowhere  deeper  than  5  feet,  "  where  persons 
could  enjoy  the  useful  and  manly  exercise  of  swim- 
ming with  perfect  safety."  Advertisements  of  the 
eulogistic  order  appeared  in  the  newspapers  of  1748,3 
describing    the    baths    as    "truly    Peerless,    having 

'  The  old  pronunciation  of  "  perilous." 

«  Middleton's    "  Roaring  Girl,"  161 1,  Act  ii.  Sc.  i.  ;  named 
from  Moll  Cutpurse,  one  of  the  characters. 

3  The  Daily  Advertiser  of  August  6,   1748,  printed  a  long 
poetical  description  of  Peerless  Pool  (Maitland), 

112 


Central  London  Group  of  Wells  and  Spas 

no  equal."  Besides  the  bath,  Kemp  also  constructed 
a  large  fish-pond,  320  feet  long,  90  feet  broad,  and 
1 1  feet  deep,  and  stocked  with  carp,  tench,  and  other 
fish.  Writing  of  the  locality  in  1 790,  Pennant  says : 
"  Here  is  an  excellent  covered  bath,  a  library,  a  bowl- 
ing green,  and  every  innocent  and  rational  amuse- 
ment." On  leaving  the  baths  visitors  would  adjourn 
to  the  **  Shepherd  and  Shepherdess,"  a  neighbour- 
ing inn,  to  tea. 

About  1805  ^r-  Joseph  Watts  (father  of  Thomas 
Watts,  the  Keeper  of  the  Printed  Books  at  the 
British  Museum),  obtained  a  lease  of  the  place 
from  St.  Bartholomew  s  Hospital  at  a  rental  of  ;^6oo 
per  annum.  He  drained  the  fish-pond  and  built 
Baldwin  Street  over  the  site,  pulling  down  the  old- 
fashioned  house  which  Kemp  had  inhabited,  and 
erecting  Bath  Buildings  on  his  orchard  :  these  build- 
ings do  not  appear  to  have  been  completed  till  about 
181 1  or  later.  The  bath  he  preserved  intact. ^  Hone 
in  1826,  when  Watts  was  still  proprietor,  describes 
how  the  Bluecoat  boys  enjoyed  their  plunge  in  the 
pool,  which  was  in  fact  used  by  them  for  nearly  a 
quarter  of  a  century  later.  Peerless  Pool  is  named 
in  "The  Picture  of  London"  (1829),  as  one  of  the 
principal  public  baths  of  London.  On  June  24,  1833, 
an  historical  drama  was  performed  at  Sadler's  Wells 
Theatre,  entitled  "  Peerless  Pool,  or  the  early  days  of 
Richard  HL"  Mr.  Hyde  Clark,  writing  in  Notes 
and  Queries  in  1889,2  says  that  it  continued  to 
be   used  as   a   bath   until   comparatively   late  years. 

'  Wroth,  "  London   Pleasure    Gardens    of    the    Eighteenth 
Century,"  p.  84,  and  Hughson,  vol.  iv.  p.  414,  ed.  181 1. 
*  tioies  and  Queries^  7th  Ser.,  viii.  214,  215. 

IJ3  H 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

It  seems  to  have  been  built  over  between  1850 
and  i860.  North  of  St.  Luke's  Hospital  is  Peerless 
Street,  formerly  called  Peerless  Row,  and  on  the 
west  side,  Bath  Street — a  nomenclature  which  keeps 
in  memory  the  old  association  of  the  district. 


114 


CHAPTER  V 

NORTH   AND   EAST   LONDON  GROUP  OF   WELLS 
AND  SPAS 

Holywell,  Shoreditch — Conventual  House  of  St.  John  the 
Baptist  at  Haliwell — Position  of  the  well  discussed — 
Hoxton  "  Balsamic  Wells "  —  Dr.  Byfield's  account  of 
them  in  1687 — Shad  well — Sun  Tavern  Fields  :  Mineral 
spring — Postern  Waters,  Tower  Hill — Hackney — Its  wells 
and  springs — Pig  or  Pyke  Well — Churchfield  Well — 
Shacklewell— Wells  at  Tottenham— Offertory  or  Cell  of 
St.  Eloy — Hermitage  and  Chapel  of  St.  Anne— Bishop's 
Well— Well  in  Spotton's  Wood— St.  Dunstan's  Well- 
Bruce  Castle — Woodford  Wells  ;  a  mineral  spring  near 
the  **  Horse  and  Groom  " — Chigwell — Derivation  of  the 
name — Purgative  spring  in  Chigwell  Row — Muswell  Hill 
— Two  ancient  wells,  differing  in  quaUty. 

EARLY  in  the  twelfth  century — the  date  is  un- 
ascertainable — there  is  known  to  have  been 
a  well  or  spring  of  water  situated  on  the  eastern 
extremity  of  Finsbury  Fields,  in  the  parish  of  St. 
Leonard's,  Shoreditch.  It  gave  its  name  to  a 
prebend  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  known  as  the 
prebend  Haliwell  (equivalent  to  Holywell)  alias 
Finsbury,  which  was  created  in  1104.  This  preben- 
dary became  absorbed  in  the  Archdeaconry  of 
London,  which  still  holds  the  patronage  of  the 
living  of  St.  Leonard's.     The  well,  together  with  that 

115 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

part  of  the  field  or  moor  in  which  it  arose,  were 
given,  before  the  year,  1127,^  to  some  religious 
women,  by  Robert  FitzGelran,  a  canon  of  St. 
Paul's  ;  upon  which  a  priory  was  built  ''  to  the  honour 
of  Christ,  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  St.  John 
the  Baptist,"  for  Nuns  of  the  Benedictine  Order. 
A  Charter  of  Confirmation  was  granted  to  the  priory 
by  Richard  I.,  bearing  date  October  7,  1189,  wherein 
he  confirmed  the  original  gift,  together  with  donations 
subsequently  made  by  others,  of  certain  lands  at 
Dunton,  Camberwell,  and  elsewhere.  2 

The  well  was  probably  the  '*  fons  sacer  "  of  Fitz- 
Stephen,  and  doubtless  it  acquired  additional  sanctity 
from  its  seclusion  within  the  precincts  of  the  priory. 
The  antiquity  of  the  foundation  of  the  Nunnery  may 
be  further  deduced  from  a  record  in  the  King's 
Remembrancer's  Office  of  the  Exchequer,  dated 
July  I,  1 2 17,  2nd  Henry  III.),  setting  forth  that 
the  prioress  and  convent  had  held  of  the  King's 
progenitors  from  **  time  beyond  the  memory  of  man," 
certain  lands  in  Alsewyke  (manor)  in  the  county  of 
Hertford.  Some  incidental  references  to  the  priory 
will  also  be  found  in  Dr.  Sharpe's  Calendar  of  Wills 
enrolled  in  the  Court  of  Husting,  London,  in  which 
bequests  are  recorded  in  favour  of  the  Conventual 
House  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  at  Haliwell.  Two 
chantries    adjoining    the    south   side   of  the   priory 


'  Maitland  ("  History  of  London,"  1739,  p.  772)  considers  that 
the  priory  was  founded  between  the  years  1108  and  1128,  the 
dates  of  consecration  and  death  respectively  of  Richard  de 
Belmies,  or  Beaumes  I.,  Bishop  of  London,  during  whose 
episcopate  Robert  FitzGelran  was  prebendary  of  Haliwell. 

*  ''  Monasticon  Anglicanum/'  Dugdale,  vol.  iv.  p.  293. 

116 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

church,  which  had  been  erected  by  Sir  Thomas 
Lovell,  are  mentioned  in  the  will  of  John  Billesdon/ 
grocer,  dated  in  1522  (temp,  Henry  VIII.),  who  was 
a  trustee  for  their  maintenance. 

Nothing  of  special  importance  seems  to  be  recorded 
from  this  period  until  the  dissolution  of  the  monas- 
teries, when  the  last  prioress  of  Haliwell,  Sibilla 
Nudigate,  surrendered  her  house  to  the  King  in  1539, 
(29th  Henry  VIII.).  The  site  of  the  priory  was  soon 
desecrated  :  in  1541  a  messuage  and  garden  within 
the  precinct  was  granted  to  one  George  Harpur,  and 
in  1544  the  freehold  of  the  site  was,  through  the 
personal  influence  of  Queen  Catherine  Parr,  granted 
by  letters  patent  of  July  23rd  of  that  year,  to  Henry 
Webbe.  In  1576  a  portion  of  the  site  belonged  to 
Giles  Allen,  who  leased  it  to  James  Burbage,  a 
**joyner,"  but  afterwards  an  actor,  and  formed  the 
site  of  the  theatre,  where  his  more  famous  son, 
Richard  Burbage,  acted. 

About  twenty  years  later  Stow  speaks  of  the  well 
as  "much  decayed  and  marred  with  filthiness  pur- 
posely layed  there  for  the  heightening  of  the  ground 
for  garden  plots."  In  the  1603  edition  of  his  ''Survey 
of  London,"  he  says,  speaking  of  the  priory  :  "  The 
Church  thereof  being  pulled  downe,  many  houses  have 
been  builded  for  the  lodginges  of  noble  men,  of 
straungers  borne,  and  other  ;  and  near  thereunto  are 
builded  two  publique  houses  for  the  acting  and  shewe 
of  comedies,  tragedies,  and  histories,  for  recreation, 
whereof  the  one  is  called  the  Curtein,  the  other  the 
Theatre,  both  standing  on  the  south-west  towards  the 
Field  "  (Finsbury). 

»  Cal.,  ii.,  635,  Part  ii.,  1358-1688. 
117 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

When  Dugdale  wrote  (about  1817)  the  remains  of 
the  Nunnery  were  confined  to  some  walls,  a  small 
arch,  and  part  of  a  doorway  in  a  back  cellar  of  a 
public-house  known  by  the  sign  of  the  **  Old  King 
John."  I  The  stone  gateway,  the  last  building  of  any 
importance  which  remained,  had  been  taken  down 
about  the  year  1785.  At  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  chief  freehold  of  the  site  belonged 
to  a  Mrs.  Newsam,  of  Hackney. 

In  recent  times  efforts  have  been  made  to  locate  the 
well,  and  some  of  the  results  communicated  to  Notes  and 
Queries,  A  Mr.  R.  Clark  2  drew  attention,  through  the 
medium  of  that  publication,  to  an  article  in  the  Builder 
of  September  19,  1896,  which  states  that  ''the  ancient 
holy  well  should  be  looked  for  in  the  area  between 
Bateman's  Row  and  New  Inn  Yard  and  behind  the 
Board  School  in  Curtain  Road,  that  is  to  say,  west  of 
New  Inn  Street."  This  is  all  very  circumstantial, 
but  the  writer  bases  his  statement  on  the  survey  by 
Peter  Chassereau,  taken  in  1745,  in  which  the 
supposed  position  of  the  well  is  marked  by  a  cross 
and  the  words  *'  Ye  well  from  which  the  liberty 
derives  its  name."  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  how- 
ever that,  as  pointed  out  by  Colonel  W.  F.  Prideaux,3 
Chassereau  did  not  make  his  survey  till  more  than  two 
hundred  years  had  elapsed  from  the  date  of  the  dis- 
solution of  the  Nunnery  (1539);  the  position  of  the 
well  could  therefore  have  been  only  a  matter  of 
tradition.  Another  contributor  to  Notes  and  Queries 
(8th  Series,  May  22,   1897),  quotes  an  article  in  the 

^  ''Monasticum  Anglicanum,"  vol.  iv.  p.  390. 
^  Notes  and  Queries,  8th  Ser.,  October  10,  1896. 
3  Ibid.,  October  31,  1896. 
118 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

Journal  of  the  Royal  Institute  of  British  Architects 
(vol.  iv.,  3rd  series,  p.  237),  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Hudson, 
who  says  that  the  well  of  the  priory  was  situate  on 
the  south  side  of  what  is  known  as  Bateman's  Row, 
but  was  formerly  (before  1799)  called  Cash's  Alley, 
near  Curtain  Road.  This  agrees  substantially  with 
Mr.  Clark's  statement.  Mr.  Lovegrove,  writing  in 
1904,  says  :  **  The  well  itself  is  to  be  found  in  a 
marble-mason's  yard  in  Bateman's  Row,  but  is  covered 
over."  The  same  writer  notes  that  of  the  Nunnery 
buildings  only  a  piece  of  stone  wall  about  50  feet 
long,  in  a  timber  yard  at  186,  High  Street,  Shoreditch, 
is  now  left.^ 

Hoxton  was  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century  apparently  a  place  of  pleasant  conviviality. 
Thus  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  in  the  **  Knight  of  the 
Burning  Pestle"  (first  published  in  161 3),  introduce 
Ralph,  dressed  as  a  King  of  the  May,  who  says  : — 

**  London,  to  thee  I  do  present  this  merry  month  of  May  ; 
Let  each  true  subject  be  content  to  hear  me  what  I  say  : 
March  out  and  show  your  wilHng  minds  by  twenty  and  by 

twenty, 
To  Hogsdon  or  to  Newington,  where  ale  and  cakes  are  plenty.'^ 

A  medicinal  spring  was  discovered  in  Hoxton  late 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  on  digging  out  the  cellar 
for  a  house  near  Charles  Square,  which  is  reached  by 
a  turning  out  of  Old  Street,  City  Road.  The  waters 
are  described  in  a  litde  volume  entided,  **  A  Short  and 
Plain  Account  of  the  late  found  Balsamic  Wells  at 

^  Holywell  Priory,  Shoreditch,  by  G.  H.  Lovegrove,  Home 
Counties  Magazine,  vol.  vi.,  1904.  From  this  article  parts  of  the 
foregoing  history  of  the  Priory  are  extracted. 

119 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Hoxdon,  and  of  their  excellent  virtues  above  other 
mineral  waters."  The  dedication  is  to  **The  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Wells  at  the  Golden  Heart  in  Hoxdon 
Square,"  by  T.  Byfield,  M.D.,  1687.  It  was  said 
to  be  a  sulphur  spring,  with  the  addition  of  iron,  and 
according  to  Dr.  Byfield,  the  waters  were  capable  of 
combating  a  whole  army  of  disorders.  They  were 
to  be  taken  alone,  from  one  to  two  quarts,  or  five 
pints  at  most — a  fortnight  or  three  weeks  together 
being  long  enough.  **  There  is,"  he  says,  "  no 
unwholesome  glebe  (concretion)  or  any  dangerous 
mineral  or  metal  (in  them)  that  casts  one  unhappy 
ray  into  this  healing  fountain."  On  the  contrary, 
they  set  up  '*  such  a  pretty  bustle  or  ferment  in  nature 
that  makes  gay  a  well-temper  d  Healthy  Body." 

With  regard  to  the  presence  of  sulphur  in  the 
spring.  Dr.  Macpherson  ^  states  that  "  of  sulphur 
wells  there  are  none  in  or  near  London.*'  He  says 
that  the  chalybeate  water  at  Hoxton  had  a  bituminous 
scum  on  it,  but,  strange  to  say,  yielded  a  pleasant 
aromatic  flavour. 

Just  below  Wapping,  and  facing  the  Lower  Pool, 
is  Shadwell,  which,  like  the  former,  was  till  1669, 
when  it  became  an  independent  parish,  a  hamlet  of 
Stepney.  Lysons  writes  ("  Environs  of  London," 
vol.  lii.  p.  382)  :  "This  place  (Shadwell),  which 
was  formerly  called  Chadwelle,  took  its  name,  as  is 
supposed,  from  a  spring  dedicated  to  St.  Chad."  The 
spring  has  been  said  to  lie  buried  under  a  pillar,  near 
the  south-east  corner  of  the  parish  church  of  St.  Paul, 
within  the  churchyard,  but  that  the  place  derived  its 
name  from  it  is  at  least  open  to  doubt.     The  question 

'  "  Our  Baths  and  Welk,"  1871. 
120 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

of  the  origin  of  the  name  Shadwell  is  discussed  in 
"East  London  Antiquities "  (1902),  a  publication 
devoted  to  the  history,  legends,  &c.,  of  that  part  of 
London.  A  Mr.  Hale  and  Mr.  John  T.  Page  (author 
of  **The  Old  Wells  of  Middlesex"),  are  of  opinion 
that  the  name  is  equivalent  to  St.  Chad's  Well,  and 
that  it  was  given  to  a  well  or  spring  in  this  part  in 
very  early  times.  This  view  is  not  accepted  by 
Colonel  Prideaux,  who  certainly  gives  very  cogent 
reasons  for  his  own  way  of  thinking.  He  finds  that 
so  long  ago  as  the  seventh  year  of  King  Henry  HL 
(a.d.  1 2 13-14),  there  was  a  conveyance  of  land 
between  Benedict  Clericus  of  Stebeheia  (Stepney) 
and  Daniel  de  Stebeheia,  of  lands  in  Stebeheia  at 
**  Shadewell."^  **  It  is  difficult  to  believe,"  says  he, 
"that  the  name  of  St.  Chad's  well  could  have  been 
corrupted  at  this  early  date,  especially  as  the  well  of 
the  same  name  in  the  parish  of  St.  Pancras  retained 
its  original  designation  during  the  whole  period  of  its 
existence.  That  Shadwell  derived  its  name  from 
some  *  fine  fountain,*  is  of  course  indisputable,  and  it 
is  possible  that  the  fountain  may  have  been  dedicated 
to  St.  Chad,  but  that  fact  would  not  necessarily  con- 
nect itself  with  the  name  of  the  district.  There  are 
also  phonetic  difficulties  in  the  way.  The  name  of  the 
saint  *  Ceadda '  in  Anglo-Saxon  becomes  *  Chad '  in 
modern  English,  and  it  could  not  become  *  Shad.' " 
About  the  year  1745  (some  say  a  few  years  later), 
a  mineral  water  of  a  powerful  nature  was  disclosed  by 
a  Mr.  Walter  Berry  in  sinking  a  well  in  Sun  Tavern 
Fields,  formerly  known  as  Vine  Tavern  Fields,  an 

*  *'  Calendar  to  the  Feet  of  Fines  in  London  and  Middlesex," 
ed.  Hardy  and  Page,  i.  16. 

121 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

open  space  of  oblong  shape  which  lay  between  High 
Street  and  Cable  Street,  but  long  since  built  over. 
The  water  was  said  to  be  impregnated  with  sulphur, 
vitriol,  steel,  and  antimony.  A  pamphlet,  published 
by  D.  W.  Linden,  M.D.,  in  1749,  by  way  of  a  puff, 
extols  it  as  an  approved  cure  for  almost  every 
disorder  incident  to  the  human  body,  either  by 
drinking  or  bathing.  At  all  events  the  water  proved 
serviceable  as  an  antiscorbutic,  and  in  all  cutaneous 
diseases  ;  but  it  was  soon  found  to  be  too  strong  for 
employment  internally.  Subsequently  the  water  from 
this  spring  was  used  for  extracting  salts,  and  for 
preparing  a  liquor  with  which  calico  printers  fix 
their  colours  :  at  that  time  there  were  many  calico 
printers  at  Stratford  and  Bow.  At  the  east  end  of 
Juniper  Street,  but  on  part  of  the  site  of  the  Fields, 
is  a  short  lane  or  passage  connecting  Cable  Street 
with  High  Street,  called  Sun  Tavern  Gap,  which 
recalls  the  old  name. 

There  was  another  spring  in  the  parish  **of  a 
quality  resembling  that  of  the  Postern  Waters  on 
Tower  Hill."  The  latter  were  close  to  the  Postern 
Gate,  and  reached  by  a  descent  of  several  stone  steps. 
Nothing  now  remains  of  it,  but  its  position  is  indi- 
cated by  Postern  Row,  formerly  facing  the  north  front 
of  the  Tower  of  London. 

Hackney  is  not  mentioned  in  Domesday  Book,  but 
it  is  probable  that  it  was  included  in  the  survey  of 
Stepney.  Lysons  (ed.  1795)  mentions  an  ancient 
record,  dated  the  37th  Henry  III,  (1253),  in  which 
it  is  called  Hackeneye,  thus  differing  but  little  from 
the  present  name.  He  prints  copious  quotations 
from   the   church   registers,   which   show   that   many 

122 


J 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

noblemen  and  other  persons  of  consequence  had  their 
country  seats  here,  enumerating  among  its  residents 
an  Earl  of  Northumberland,  a  Countess  of  Warwick, 
and  a  Lord  Brooke.  John  Strype,  the  historian, 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  was  rector  of 
Hackney,  where  he  continued  to  reside  till  his  death, 
in  1737,  at  the  great  age  of  ninety-four.  Milton's 
connection  with  Hackney  is  only  very  slight — the 
father  of  his  second  wife,  Katherine  Woodcocke,  is 
said  to  have  belonged  to  the  place.  Nothing  more 
is  known  of  her  than  can  be  gathered  from  the 
beautiful  sonnet  he  wrote  after  her  death.  ^ 

In  the  Ambulator  oi  iJJ^  Hackney  is  described 
as  "a  very  large  and  populous  village,  inhabited  by 
such  numbers  of  merchants  and  wealthy  persons  that 
it  is  said  there  are  near  a  hundred  gentlemen's  coaches 
kept." 

There  were  at  the  latter  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century  several  wells  in  different  parts  of  Hackney. 
Dr.  William  Robinson,  in  his  **  History  of  Hackney" 
(1842),  mentions  Pig's  Well — a  misnomer  for  Pyke 
Well ;  Churchfield  Well,  which  gave  the  name  to 
Well  Street ;  a  considerable  spring  on  the  Downs, 
continually  flowing  and  said  never  to  freeze ;  and 
another  well  in  Shacklewell,  from  which  that  place 
derives  its  name,  but  the  very  site  of  which  is  now 
forgotten.  There  was  formerly.  Dr.  Robinson  says, 
a  chalybeate  well  a  little  way  out  of  Church  Street, 
towards  Dalston,  but  which  was  not  in  his  time  in 
general  use.     A  later  writer,  Mr.   Benjamin    Clarke, 

'  She  was  a  parishioner  of  St.  Mary,  Aldermanbury.  Her 
marriage  with  Milton  on  November  12,  1656,  is  entered  in  the 
register.   ("  London  City  Churches,"  A.  E.  Daniell,  1896,  p.  228.) 

123 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

writing  under  the  pseudonym  of  **  F.R.C.S.''  in 
"Glimpses  of  Ancient  Hackney"  (1893),  says  :  **The 
well  which  gave  its  name  to  Well  Street  may  still 
exist  by  Cottage  Place,  Well  Street,  latterly  covered 
by  a  pump  affixed  to  an  adjacent  wall."  This  well, 
he  further  observes,  is  believed  by  Mr.  John  Thomas, 
a  surgeon  of  Hackney,  to  be  coeval  with  the  palace 
of  the  Priors  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  of  which 
Palace  Road  is  a  remembrance.^  It  may  have  been 
partially  a  mineral  spring,  or  at  any  rate,  from  its 
contiguity  to  a  monastic  establishment,  have  had  a 
holy  reputation,  and  hence  the  road  to  it  would 
naturally  be  named  after  it.  Another  spring  Dr. 
Robinson  thus  describes:  "Some  years  ago  there 
was  a  spring  of  pure  water  near  the  old  churchyard 
and  Morning  Lane,  to  which  the  inhabitants  used  to 
resort  for  water.  This  well  had  been  for  upwards 
of  a  century  enclosed  within  a  square  brick-and-tile 
building,  with  a  doorway  entrance.  In  the  year  1837, 
for  want  of  proper  attention,  the  old  building,  or  well- 
house,  was  found  to  be  in  a  very  dilapidated  state, 
and  instead  of  repairing  it  the  churchwardens  of  that 
day  thought  it  would  be  cheaper  to  pull  it  down  and 
set  up  an  iron  pump  in  its  place,  which  was  done, 
and  this  iron  pump,  by  impregnating  the  water  with 

^  The  Templars'  House  was  opposite  the  entrance  of  Dalston 
Lane,  in  Church  Street.  Within  the  memory  of  the  last  genera- 
tion the  building  was  divided  into  small  tenements  of  a  mean 
description.  It  was  pulled  down  about  1825.  The  last  volume 
(published  in  1908)  of  the  "  Fascination  of  London "  series 
reproduces  an  engraving  of  it,  but  this  obviously  was  not  of 
such  early  date  as  the  Templars,  and  probably  stood  on  the 
site  of  a  much  older  building.  (**  Hackney  and  Stoke  Newing- 
ton,"  by  G.  E.  Mitton,  1908.) 

124 


I 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

the  quality  of  iron,  has  rendered  the  water  once  so 
celebrated  almost  useless." 

About  five  miles  from  Shoreditch  Church,  lying 
between  Stamford  Hill  and  Edmonton,  on  the  old 
Cambridge  Road,  is  Tottenham — a  place  which  can 
boast  of  some  antiquity,  being  mentioned  in  the 
Domesday  Survey  as  Toteham.  It  has  been  linked 
on  to  the  metropolis  with  more  or  less  continuity  for 
some  years  past ;  now  an  unbroken  chain  of  houses 
lines  the  whole  route  from  the  City.  The  etymology 
of  the  name  may  be  from  Tot  (Tut),  an  elevation,  the 
site  being  a  ridge  of  high  ground  overlooking  the 
marshes  bordering  the  Lea  River,  or  perhaps  it  is 
a  patronymic.  Toting  or  Toding,  with  the  suffix  ham 
(home),  as  has  also  been  suggested. 

The  earliest  chronicler  of  Tottenham  was  the 
Reverend  William  Bedwell,  who  was  vicar  of  the 
parish  from  1607  to  1632.  In  his  "Briefe  Description 
of  the  Towne  of  Tottenham  High  Crosse"  (1631,  re- 
printed 1 7 18),  he  arranges  the  "memorable  things'*  in 
•'ternaries,"  the  second  ternary  (with  which  this  account 
is  concerned)  comprising  the  Crosse,  the  Hermitage, 
and  the  Altar,  or  Offertory,  of  St.  Eloy.^  The  High 
Cross  still  stands  nearly  opposite  "The  Green."  It 
is  an  octagonal  brick  tower  cemented  over,  having  a 
weather-vane  on  the  top;  formerly  it  had  a  sundial. 
An  earlier  wooden  cross  was  taken  down  about  the 
year    1600   and   rebuilt   by   Dean    Wood;    this   one 

^  St.  Eloy  (or  Eligius),  a  saint  in  the  French  Calendar,  the 
patron  of  blacksmiths  and  farriers.  He  was  born  about  the 
year  588,  and  ordained  Bishop  of  Noyon  in  640,  holding  that 
see  for  nearly  twenty  years.  Adjoining  the  ancient  chapel  of 
St.  Mary  Magdalen,  at  Kingston-upon-Thames,  were  two  small 
chapels  dedicated  to  St.  Anne  and  St.  Love. 

125 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

lasted  for  over  two  centuries,  but  getting  out  of 
repair,  the  inhabitants  had  it  covered  with  stucco  and 
decorated  in  the  Gothic  style.  Although  generally 
assumed  to  be  an  Eleanor  Cross,  as  at  Waltham,  it 
was  probably  merely  one  of  the  wayside  crosses  once 
common  in  the  towns  and  villages  of  England.  It 
was  not  a  market  cross,  as  there  is  no  mention  of  a 
market  at  Tottenham.  It  is  mentioned  as  "the  hie 
crosse"  in  a  Court  Roll,  anno  1456.^ 

The  Hermitage  and  Chapel  of  St.  Anne,  dependent 
on  the  Monastery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  within  Aldgate, 
was  a  small,  square  building,  with  a  little  slip  of 
ground  attached  to  it,  which  stood  on  the  Common 
on  the  east  side  of  the  high  road,  at  a  short  distance 
southward  from  the  Cross,  about  midway  between  it 
and  Blackup  Bridge  (called  Blackhope  on  a  map  of 
1 619),  near  the  Seven  Sisters, 2  and  it  was  there 
within  the  memory  of  some  persons  living  in  Bedwell  s 
time,  but  had  been  turned  into  a  small  dwelling-house. 
The  site  was  afterwards  occupied  by  the  Bull  Inn, 
and  the  slip  of  ground  attached,  running  along  the 
high  road,  was  covered  by  a  terrace  of  houses  called 
Grove  Place.  The  Offertory,  or  Chapel,  dedicated  to 
St.  Eloy,  or  St.  Loy,  is  described  by  Bedwell  as  **a 
poore  house  on  the  west  side  of  the  great  rode,  a  little 
off  from  the  bridge  (over  the   Mosell),3   where    the 

'  Lysons,  "  Environs  of  London,'^  ed.  1811,  vol.  ii.  p.  745. 

«  A  clump  of  seven  elms  which,  tradition  says,  were  planted 
by  seven  sisters.  These  going  to  decay,  the  daughters  of  Mr. 
J.  McRae,  who  resided  in  the  house  close  by,  planted  seven 
others,  just  to  the  east  of  their  predecessors,  in  1852. 

3  A  little  brook  rising  in  Muswell  Hill  and  passing  between 
Hornsey  and  Tottenham  Wood,  crossed  the  parish  from  west  to 
east,  dividing  it  into  two  unequal  parts. 

126 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

middle  ward — comprehending  Church  End  and  Marsh 
Lane — was  determined."  He  further  explains  that 
"  the  house  in  which  the  late  Mr.  Harding,  the  stone- 
mason, lived  has  been  considered  to  occupy  the  site 
of  the  Chapel,  and  the  slip  of  ground  on  the  north  of 
it,  now  partly  built  upon,  was  formerly  attached  to 
the  Chapel."  In  Bedwell's  time  the  well  was 
** nothing  else  but  a  deep  pitte  in  the  highway,  on 
the  west  side  thereof  between  his  (St.  Loy's)  Cell 
and  the  Crosse."  He  also  says  that  it  was  within 
memory  cleaned  out,  and  at  the  bottom  was  found  **a 
very  faire  great  stone  which  had  certain  characters  or 
letters  engrav  n  upon  it,  but  being  broken  and  defaced 
by  the  negligence  of  the  workmen,  and  nobody  near 
that  regarded  such  things,  it  was  not  known  what 
they  were  or  what  they  might  signify." 

The  water  of  this  spring  was  declared  to  excel  in 
its  medicinal  qualities  all  other  springs  near  it,  and 
in  a  footnote  in  Dr.  Robinson's  **  History  of  Totten- 
ham "  (1840),  he  says  that  its  properties  were  said  to 
resemble  those  of  Cheltenham  Springs.  This  author 
reproduces  a  survey  of  Tottenham,  made  by  order 
of  the  Earl  of  Dorset  in  the  year  16 19,  in  which  there 
is  a  field  called  **  South-field  at  St.  Loy's "  on  the 
western  side  of  the  high  road.  He  speaks  of  the 
well  as  "now  to  be  seen  surrounded  by  willows, 
close  to  the  hedge-row  which  divides  the  above  field 
from  Mr.  Forster's  brickfield,  and  about  500  feet  from 
the  highway;  bricked  up  on  all  sides,  square,  and 
about  four  feet  deep." 

Some  person  concerned  in  the  building  extensions 
in  Tottenham — not  unmindful  of  its  local  history — has 
named  a  road  after  St.  Eloy,  which,  from  its  position 

127 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

a  little  to  the  south  of  Bruce  Grove,  must  cover  the 
site  of  the  ancient  well. 

Another  spring,  known  as  Bishop's  Well,  is 
described  by  Bedwell  as  issuing  out  of  the  side  of 
a  hill  in  a  field  opposite  to  the  vicarage,  and  falling 
into  the  Mose  (Mosell)  **  afore  it  hath  run  many 
paces."  The  ground  was  formerly  called  the  Well 
Field.  The  well  was  dried  up  in  draining  the  ceme- 
tery ;  the  main  drain  intersected  the  course  of  the 
spring  feeding  the  well,  which  was  then  filled  up. 
The  water  was  said  never  to  freeze,  and  like  that 
of  St.  Eloy's,  to  be  efficacious  in  the  cure  of  certain 
bodily  infirmities,  but  particularly  for  disorders  of  the 
eye.  It  was  also  in  great  repute  from  the  purity  of  its 
water — so  much  so  that  the  ladies  in  the  vicinity  were 
in  the  habit  of  sending  their  servants  in  the  morning 
and  evening  for  water  for  their  tea,  from  which  cir- 
cumstance it  was  vulgarly  known  as  ''My  Lady's 
Hole."  There  was  also  a  well  in  Spotton's  Wood, 
otherwise  called  Spotton's  Grove,  on  the  north  side 
of  Lordship  Lane,  which  in  the  fifteenth  century  was 
of  considerable  notoriety.  Tottenham  Wood,  which 
lay  on  the  western  outskirts  of  the  parish,  was  in  the 
same  century  celebrated  for  its  well,  which  was  called 
•*St.  Dunstan's  Well,"  and  some  time  since  there  was 
an  enclosure  called  St.  Dunstan's  Well  Field,  but 
even  in  Bedwell's  time  this,  like  the  others,  was 
almost  forgotten. 

Before  concluding  this  notice  of  Tottenham  its 
association  with  the  family  of  the  Bruces  should  be 
mentioned.  This  originated  in  one  of  the  four 
manors  ^  descending  from  John,  Earl  of  Chester,  to 

'  These  were  the  manors  of  Brus,  Pembroke,  Dawbeney,  and 
Mocking. 

128 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

Robert  de  Brus,  or  Bruce,  one  of  his  heirs,  and  the 
unsuccessful  competitor  with  John  Baliol  for  the 
throne  of  Scotland.  His  elder  son  Robert,  Earl  of 
Annandale  and  Carrick,  to  whom  the  manor  (of 
Bruce)  passed,  is  believed  to  have  built  the  manor- 
house,  thence  called  Brus,  or  Bruce,  Castle,  where 
he  resided.  On  his  death  in  1303,  his  son  Robert 
the  Bruce,  of  Scottish  history,  succeeded  as  his  heir. 
Three  years  later  he  was  crowned  King  of  Scotland. 
Edward  I.  thereupon  seized  his  English  estates,  and 
the  connection  of  Tottenham  with  the  Bruces  ter- 
minated. 

The  Bruce  Castle  of  to-day  is  a  large  brick-built 
mansion  with  stone  dressings,  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  high  road,  on  the  north  side  of  Lordship  Lane 
and  near  the  parish  church.  It  was  rebuilt  or  new- 
fronted,  as  appears  by  a  date  in  one  of  the  rooms, 
by  the  Hare  family  (Barons  of  Coleraine)  a  little 
before  the  Revolution  (of  1688).  Since  that  time 
the  structure  has  been  considerably  altered  by  various 
owners,  so  that  very  little  of  the  Tudor  mansion, 
which  was  built  by  the  Comptons  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  remains.  The  only  surviving  relic  of  earlier 
buildings  is  a  detached  tower  of  red  brick,  used  as  a 
water-tower,  an  engine-pump  under  it  being  connected 
with  a  well  close  by  ;  the  water  thus  procured  feeds 
a  cistern  above.  The  grounds  have  been  turned  into 
a  public  park  since  1892,  when  the  Tottenham  Urban 
District  Council  purchased  them  with  the  house  for 

;^25,000. 

In  connection  with  the  little  monastic  cell  or  chapel 
of  St.  Eloy  an  interesting  question  arises.  Upon  what 
monastery  or  convent  was  it  dependent  for  its  endow- 

129  I 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

ment,  or  If  not  endowed,  for  its  means  of  subsistence  ? 
as  it  is  unlikely  to  have  been  self-supporting.  Neither 
Bedwell,  Oldfield  and  Dyson,  nor  Robinson,  the  local 
historians,  allude  to  this  point.  One  would  have 
expected  to  find  the  information  in  such  well-recog- 
nised works  as  Dugdale's  **  Monasticon"  or  New- 
court's  "  Repertorium  "  ;  but  these  do  not  even  men- 
tion the  existence  of  the  chapel  of  St.  Loy,  although 
Dugdale  gives  a  long  list  of  alien  priories  and  cells. 
In  answer  to  a  question  which  the  writer  inserted  in 
Notes  and  Queries  (loth  Sen,  vol.  vi.,  November  24, 
1 906)  it  was  suggested  in  a  reply  that  at  an  early  date 
the  chapel  may  have  received  its  endowment  from  the 
canons  of  Holy  Trinity  in  Aldgate,  but  a  search  in 
**  Liber  Sanctse  Trinitatis  de  Aldgate "  was  unsuc- 
cessful, no  reference  to  the  chapel  or  its  dedication 
being  found  there. 

Woodford  Wells  parish  lies  at  the  foot  of  Buck- 
hurst  and  Chigwell  Hills,  at  the  southern  edge  of  the 
open  part  of  Epping  Forest.  It  is  about  half  a  mile 
north  of  Woodford  Green,  with  which  it  is  connected 
by  rows  of  humble  roadside  cottages  and  a  few  villa 
residences.  The  hamlet  had  till  recently  an  old- 
fashioned  country  aspect.  It  owes  its  name  to  a 
medicinal  spring  which  appears  to  have  been  in 
repute  for  many  diseases  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  but  history  is  silent  as  to  how 
or  when  it  was  discovered.  In  an  "  Itinerary  of 
Twenty-five  Miles  round  London,"  published  towards 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  writer  thus 
describes  the  locality :  **  A  mineral  spring,  which 
rises  in  the  forest  at  a  little  distance  from  the 
*  Horse    and    Groom '    (afterwards     known    as    the 

130 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

*  Horse  at  the  Well')  was  formerly  in  good  repute, 
and  much  company  resorted  to  drink  the  waters  at 
a  place  of  public  entertainment  called  Woodford 
Wells ;  but  the  waters  have  long  lost  their  reputa- 
tion." They,  in  fact,  never  approached  in  popularity 
those  of  Hampstead,  Epsom,  or  Tunbridge,  nor  is 
their  memory,  so  far  as  one  can  learn,  enshrined 
in  any  popular  novel  or  comedy. 

The  house  of  public  entertainment  was,  more  than 
a  century  ago,  converted  into  a  private  dwelling- 
house  ;  but  the  memory  of  the  "  Wells  "  is  kept  alive 
by  an  ornamental  drinking  fountain,  covered  by  a  tall 
roof  of  enamelled  tiles,  which  has  been  erected  over 
a  well  in  front  of  some  wooden  cottages,  next  to 
which  is  the  **  Horse  at  the  Well "  Inn. 

In  the  first  volume  of  *' Greater  London"  (E. 
Walford,  1898)  is  an  engraving,  dated  1884,  of  the 
inn  and  the  drinking  fountain. 

Chigwell  is  described  by  Morant  (**  History  of 
Essex,"  1768)  as  a  village  in  the  hundred  of  Ongar. 
It  lies  between  the  forests  of  Epping  and  Hainault, 
and  is  about  ten  miles  from  Whitechapel  Church.  In 
Domesday  Book  the  place  is  written  **Cinguehella," 
and  in  rather  later  records  **  Cingwella,"  formed  from 
the  two  Saxon  words  Cyng  and  Welle,  that  is, 
King's  Well,  pronouncing  the  c  hard.  The  inter- 
polation of  the  aspirate  is  not  uncommon  in  words 
derived  from  **  King,"  but  the  dropping  of  the  n  in 
Chigwell,  while  it  is  retained  in  Chingford,  is  difficult 
to  account  for.  However,  there  is  here  pretty  clear 
testimony  of  a  spring  at  this  spot,  though  it  cannot  be 
affirmed  with  any  certainty  that  the  medicinal  spring, 
discovered  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century 

131 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

at  Chigwell  Row,  was  identical  with  an  earlier  one, 
there  being  no  evidence  forthcoming  that  the  former 
was  known  in  ancient  times.  The  position  of  the 
purgative  spring,  for  that  was  its  character,  was  in 
Chiorwell  Row  ''behind  the  Windmill  amono-  the 
trees."  Chigwell  Row  extends  along  the  north-west 
edge  of  Hainault  Forest,  one  mile  east  of  Chigwell, 
to  which  parish  it  belongs.  The  waters  had  a  warm 
advocate  in  Dr.  Frewen  (or  Frewin),  a  popular 
physician  of  the  eighteeenth  century,  and  a  native  of 
the  parish.  They,  however,  never  rose  to  any 
particular  celebrity.  When  Lysons  was  writing  his 
history  of  the  environs  they  were  "quite  neglected," 
and  in  an  incomplete  history  of  Essex  by  Elizabeth 
Ogborne  (1814),  the  author  refers  to  "  the  spring  of 
mineral  water  near  Chigwell  Row,  formerly  so  cele- 
brated but  now  considered  of  little  account,  and 
entirely  neglected." 

Readers  of  Charles  Dickens  will  recollect  that  many 
of  the  most  striking  scenes  in  **  Barnaby  Rudge"  are 
laid  at  Chigwell. 

Muswell  Hill,  which  is  about  five  and  a  half  miles 
from  London,  rising  to  a  height  of  341  feet,  is  part  of 
a  chain  of  low  hills  extending  along  the  northern  limit 
of  the  county  of  Middlesex.  The  subsoil  of  the  hill 
consists  of  chalky  and  stony  clay  (Boulder-clay)  over- 
lying gravel  and  sand.  Its  summit  and  sides,  to  the 
extent  of  about  160  acres,  are  occupied  by  the  building 
and  grounds  of  the  Alexandra  Palace. 

The  holy  well  to  which  the  hill  owes  its  name  was 
near  the  top  on  the  southern  side.  The  name  is  met 
with  in  a  variety  of  forms — as  Mouse-well,  M us- well, 
Mos-well.     In  an  old  newspaper  of  1737  the  spelling 

132 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

is  Mussel,  and  in  Rocque's  Plan  (1741-45)  it  is  spelt 
Muscle.  Originally  it  was  probably  Moss-well. 
Norden  (1693)  says  that  "at  Muswell  Hill  (called 
also  Pinsenall  Hill),  there  was  sometime  a  Chapel 
dedicated  to  Our  Lady  of  Muswell,  of  whom  there  had 
been  an  image,  and  a  great  resort  of  pilgrims."  ^  The 
pilgrimages  arose  from  a  legendary  tale  of  a  miraculous 
cure  having  been  performed  upon  a  King  of  Scots 
(whose  name,  however,  does  not  transpire),  who, 
suffering  from  some  disease,  had  been  divinely  directed 
to  Muswell  Hill,  and  healed  by  the  waters.  The  fame 
of  the  well  departed  at  the  Reformation,  and  in  the 
reign  of  Elizabeth,  when  Norden  wrote,  its  super- 
natural virtues  had  all  evaporated,  though  the  tradition 
upon  which  they  were  founded  was  still  current.  He 
tells  us  that  on  its  site  a  "  proper  house  "  had  been 
erected  by  Alderman  Roe. 2  It  is  matter  of  history, 
however,  that  the  fraternity  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem, 
whose  headquarters  were  in  Clerkenwell,  had  land  at 
Muswell  Hill  conferred  upon  them  by  Bishop  Beauvais, 
or  de  Beaumeis,  in  1 1 12  (12th  of  Henry  I.),  he  being  in 
right  of  his  office  as  Bishop  of  London,  Lord  of  the 
Manor  of  Hornsey.  The  Cartulary  of  Clerkenwell 
has  been  searched  but  no  other  early  particulars  of 
Muswell  have  been  found  than  the  few  words  in  a 
confirmatory  charter  of  Henry  U. — *' Ex  dono  Ric' 
ep'i  Lund' — terram  de  Mosewlle  "  ;  and  in  the  recital 
of  the  confirmation  by  King  Stephen  of  the  grant  of 
Bishop  de   Beauvayes,   no  places  are  named.       The 

^  '^  Speculum  Britanniae,"  John  Norden,  published  1693, 
reprinted  1723,  pp.  36-37. 

2  Sir  Henry  Roe,  Alderman  of  London  :  buried  at  Hackney, 
February,  1612. 

133 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

original  deed  of  gift  had  probably  been  lost,  when  the 
Cartulary  was  compiled.^  Upon  the  land  presented  to 
them  the  aforesaid  fraternity,  besides  building  a  chapel 
for  the  benefit  of  some  nuns,  established  here  a  kind 
of  dairy  farm,  of  which  these  nuns  had  the  manage- 
ment. It  is  a  somewhat  curious  circumstance  that 
this  property,  of  some  64  acres,  originally  bestowed  on 
the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  whose  great 
house  was  in  Clerkenwell,  to  which  the  property  was 
an  appendage,  is  still  successfully  claimed  as  a  portion 
of  the  parish  of  St.  James,  Clerkenwell. 

To  whom  this  property  was  granted  on  the  fall  of 
the  Papal  Church  in  England  does  not  appear,  but  the 
farm-house  and  site  of  the  chapel,  or,  as  described  in 
some  ancient  records,  the  Manor  of  Muswell,  were 
alienated  in  the  38th  year  of  Henry  VIII.  (1546-47) 
by  William  Cowper  and  Cecily  his  wife  to  Thomas 
Goldynge.  After  other  changes  of  ownership  the 
premises  were  alienated  or  sold  in  the  20th  of  Eliza- 
beth (1577)  by  Anne  Goodwyn  and  John  Wighell  to 
William  Rowe  and  his  heirs.  In  the  34th  of  Elizabeth 
(1591),  there  was  an  alienation  from  Roe  to  Muffet, 
but  this  was  a  family  conveyance.  Sir  William  Rowe 
having  married  into  the  Muffet  family.  The  property 
continued  in  the  possession  of  the  Rowe  family  till  the 
latter  end  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Newcourt, 
writing  circa  1700,  says:  **  Muswell  Hill  farm  was 
lately  sold  (as  I  am  informed),  by  Sir  Thomas 
Rowe."  2     It  came  either  at  that  time,  or  soon  after- 

'  Gibson's  *'  Essay  on  the  History  and  Antiquities  of  High- 
gate,"  1842. 

2  '<  Repertorium  Ecclesiasticum,"  Richard  Newcourt,  Cole's 
copy,  1710,  vol.  i.  p.  653. 

134 


North  and  East  London  Wells  and  Spas 

wards,  into  the  possession  of  the  family  of  Pulteney, 
and  Is  now,  says  Lysons  (1795)  the  property  of  Lady 
Bath  (widow  of  the  second  Marquis),  on  whose  death 
in  1825  it  devolved,  under  Sir  William  Pulteney's  will, 
on  the  Earl  of  Darlington.  The  family  of  Rowe  of 
Muswell  Hill  became  extinct  in  the  male  line  in  the 
person  of  Anthony  Rowe,  who  was  buried  at  Hackney 
in  the  year  1704. 

When  Cromwell  wrote  (1827-28)  ^  the  wells  were 
two  in  number  and  *'in  good  preservation,  being 
bricked  round  to  the  depth  from  which  they  seemingly 
spring  (about  five  and  a  half  feet),  and  enclosed  by 
wooden  railings  in  a  field.  Though  only  a  few  yards 
asunder  their  waters  differ  in  quality,  one  being  hard, 
sweet,  and  beautifully  pellucid,  while  the  other  more 
nearly  resembles  rain  water,  and  is  used  only  for  the 
purposes  to  which  the  latter  is  commonly  applied." 

In  recent  times  the  inhabitants  of  Muswell  Hill, 
who  from  time  immemorial  had  enjoyed  the  benefits  of 
the  ancient  well,  were  temporarily  deprived  of  them  by 
one  of  the  owners  of  the  estate  on  which  it  is  situate, 
who  had  the  mouth  closed.  It  was  a  serious  privation 
for  the  poorer  inhabitants,  as  wells  could  not,  except 
at  great  expense,  be  sunk  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
hill  on  account  of  the  immense  depth  of  the  London 
clay  ;  while  on  the  northern  side  the  wells  were  on  the 
premises  of  the  well-to-do  classes  only,  and  the  waters 
of  these  wells  proved  on  analysis  to  be  much  inferior 
to  that  of  the  Muswell.  After  fruitless  negotiations 
an  action  was  commenced  to  establish  the  public  right 
to  use  the  well.     The  result  was  that  the  defendant 

^"History  of  the  Parish  of  Clerkenwell,"  J.  S.  and 
H.  S.  Storer;  the  historical  part  by  Thomas  Cromwell,  1828, 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

submitted  and  judgment  was  given  for  the  plaintiffs, 
April  26,  1 862.1  Since  then  clauses  have  been 
inserted  in  the  Muswell  Hill  Act  upholding  the  people 
in  their  full  enjoyment  of  the  well.  It  was  some  years 
ago  arched  over  with  brick,  and  afterwards  supplied 
by  the  Alexandra  Park  Company  with  a  pump,  in 
which  form  it  might  be  seen  on  the  east  side  of  Colney 
Hatch  Lane.  The  water,  diverted  by  building  and 
road-making,  has  disappeared  ;  of  late  years  it  was 
only  polluted  surface  drainage.^ 

^  "  The  Northern  Heights  of  London,"  WiUiam  Howitt,  1869. 
2 "  History,    Topography,    and    Antiquities    of    Highgate,'' 
John  H.  Lloyd,  1888. 


136 


CHAPTER  VI 

NORTH-WEST  LONDON  GROUP  OF  WELLS  AND  SPAS 

Hampstead  —  Geological  features  described  —  Chalybeate 
wells — The  Assembly  Rooms  in  Wells  Walk  ;  celebrities 
who  frequented  them — Wells  Charity  Estate  and  Baptist 
Noel,  Earl  of  Gainsborough — Mr.  Goodwin's  discovery  of 
a  medicinal  spring  near  Pond  Street — Analysis  of  the  Wells 
Walk  spring — Barnet  Wells — Purgative  spring — ^Visited  by 
Pepys  —  Lysons'  mention  of  it  —  Chalybeate  spring  at 
Northaw — Trick  of  practical  jokers — Acton  Wells — An 
attractive  resort  in  Queen  Anne's  reign — Kilburn  Wells  and 
Priory — History  of  the  latter — Pleasure  gardens  attached  to 
the  Wells — Analyses  of  the  waters. 

BEFORE  describing  the  springs  and  wells  at 
Hampstead,  it  is  advisable  to  mention  briefly 
the  geological  structure  of  the  beds  forming  the  hill, 
but  without  entering  into  particulars  of  sections  and 
other  details,  which  are  dealt  with  by  the  authors 
who  have  written  on  the  geology  of  the  district.^ 
The  outlines  of  Harrow,  of  Hampstead,  and  of  High- 
gate,    are   perhaps    the    most    prominent    objects    in 

^  The  few  remarks  here  made  on  the  more  prominent  geo- 
logical features  of  Hampstead  are  chiefly  derived  from  the 
following :  *'  Whitaker's  Guide  to  the  Geology  of  London 
and  Neighbourhood,"  5th  ed.,  1889  ;  "  Paper  on  the  Geology  of 
Hampstead,"  by  Caleb  Evans,  Proc.  Geol.  Assn.  1873  ;  "  Hamp- 
stead Wells,"  Geo.  W.  Potter,  1904. 

137 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Middlesex,  the  highest  point  of  Hampstead  rising  to 
an  ahitude,  at  Jack  Straw's  Castle,  of  443  feet  above 
the  Ordnance  datum.  On  the  upper  and  highest 
part  lies  a  horizontal  bed  of  sand,  mostly  coarse, 
yellow,  and  ferruginous,  but  occasionally  fine  and 
light-coloured,  interstratified  here  and  there  with 
thin  layers  of  clay — a  capping,  in  fact,  of  the  Bag- 
shot  sand  series — which  at  the  summit  is  about 
80  feet  thick. I  Underlying  this  deposit  is  a  bed  of 
brick  earth,  the  thickness  of  which  is  about  50  feet. 
Beneath  this  and  cropping  out  on  all  sides  down 
the  slopes  of  the  hill  is  the  London  clay,  here  400 
or  more  feet  thick,  2  and  being  impervious  to  water, 
the  sand  resting  on  it  forms  a  water-bearing  stratum 
or  catchment  area,  and  hence,  flowing  along  the  line 
of  junction  from  the  sides  of  the  hill,  issue  copious 
springs  for  which  Hampstead  has  long  been  noted. 
Some  of  these  have  gradually  formed  by  erosion 
several  well-defined  valleys  which  can  be  traced  even 
at  the  present  time.  Each  of  these  contained  up 
to  sixty  or  seventy  years  ago  its  own  rapidly-flowing 
streamlet.  Of  these  the  most  important  was  that 
which  extended  from  Flask  Walk  down  a  rather  deep 
valley  (since  filled  up),  by  what  is  now  known  as 
Willow  Road,  to  South  End  Green  and  the  Kentish 
Town  Fields.  This  was  the  main  source  of  the 
Fleet  River.     Another  streamlet,  running  in  a  north- 

^  In  sinking  the  shafts  in  1904  for  the  Hampstead  Tube 
Railway  at  the  corner  of  High  Street  and  Heath  Street,  the 
London  clay  was  met  with  at  only  16  feet  below  the  surface, 
showing  how  the  sandy  bed  thins  out. 

*  It  is  of  course  only  where  the  Bagshot  sand  occurs  that  the 
whole  thickness  is  found,  the  upper  parts  having  been  worn  o£f 
elsewhere.     (Whitaker's  "  Geology  of  London,"  p.  48.) 

138 


North-West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

westerly  direction  through  Golder's  Hill  and  the 
fields  beyond,  joins  the  Brent  River  at  Brent  Bridge. 
For  some  years  before  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century  the  curative  properties  of  the  chalybeate 
springs  in  Hampstead  must  have  been  known  in 
a  greater  or  less  degree  to  the  dwellers  in  the  village 
of  Hampstead  and  the  neighbourhood.  The  earliest 
information  of  a  tangible  kind  regarding  the  principal 
spring  has  come  down  to  us  through  the  evidence  of  a 
halfpenny  token,  issued  by  one  "  Dorothy  Rippin  at 
the  Well  in  Hamsted  "  ;  these  words  being  on  the 
obverse  side,  with  a  representation  of  a  well  and 
bucket,  and  although  undated  the  period  of  issue 
is  known  to  have  been  that  of  Charles  H.^  A  still 
earlier  reference  to  a  well  here,  which  is  mentioned  in 
Park's  **  History  of  Hampstead,"  is  apparently  con- 
tained in  the  writings  of  Michael  Spark,  a  poetical 
stationer,  towards  the  end  of  the  Commonwealth 
period,  in  the  line  : — 

Air,  and  hill,  and  well  and  school/* 

the  school  being  one  established  at  Hampstead  by 
John  Amos  Comenius,  the  Moravian  grammarian  and 
divine. 

In  the  year  1598  the  Honourable  Susannah  Noel, 
Countess  of  Gainsborough,  executed  an  Indenture,  on 
her  own  part  and  that  of  her  son  Baptist,  third  Earl 
of  Gainsborough  (then  a  minor  and  lord  of  the  manor 
of  Hampstead),    making  over  the  medicinal  spring, 

'  "  London  Pleasure  Gardens  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,"  W. 
Wroth,  1896,  p.  177.  The  only  Hampstead  token  recorded  by 
Boyne  (''Tokens  issued  in  the  Seventeenth  Century,"  1858) 
with  a  date,  was  one  issued  in  1670. 

139 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

together  with  6  acres  of  heath  land  lying  about  and 
encompassing  it,  for  the  sole  use  and  benefit  of  the 
poor  of  Hampstead  for  ever.  These  6  acres  of 
waste  land,  now  known  as  the  Wells  Charity  Estate, 
were  vested  in  the  names  of  fourteen  trustees,  who 
became  tenants  under  a  copyhold  grant,  at  a  nominal 
rental.  To  the  poor  of  Hampstead  the  gift  was  of 
small  benefit,  at  this  time  and  for  many  years  after- 
wards. The  trustees,  however,  seem  to  have  fully 
realised  that  they  had  in  the  spring  a  valuable  asset ; 
they  accordingly  took  measures  to  increase  the  profits 
derivable  from  it,  as  is  shown  by  the  following 
advertisement  (here  slightly  abridged)  which  they 
caused  to  be  inserted  in  the  Postman  of  April  i8- 
20,  1700:  **  The  Chalybeate  Waters  at  Hamp- 
stead being  of  the  same  nature  and  equal  in  virtue 
with  Tunbridge  Wells  and  highly  approved  of  by 
most  of  the  eminent  physicians  of  the  College,  as 
likewise  by  many  of  the  gentry  who  formerly  used  to 
drink  Tunbridge  Waters,  are  by  direction  of  the 
Trustees  of  the  Wells  aforesaid,  for  the  conveniency 
of  those  who  yearly  drink  them  in  London,  carefully 
bottled  up  in  flasks  and  sent  to  Mr.  Philps,  Apothe- 
cary, at  the  '  Eagle  and  Child,'  in  Fleet  Street  every 
morning  (for  sale)  at  the  rate  of  3d.  per  flask,  and 
brought  to  person's  houses  at  id.  a  flask  more." 

This  attempt  to  exploit  the  waters  does  not  appear 
to  have  met  with  much  success.  The  difficulty  and 
expense  of  carriage  to  and  from  London  must  have 
been  a  great  obstacle  to  any  extensive  sale  of  the 
waters.  The  old  Flask  Tavern  in  Flask  Walk, 
where  the  waters  were  said  to  have  been  bottled, 
was  taken  down  a  few  years  ago.     The  chalybeate 

140 


North-West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

water  which  furnished  the  supply  for  this  sale  in 
London  was  not,  as  most  people  think,  the  spring  in 
Well  Walk,  but  was  taken  from  the  head  spring  or 
pond  situated  about  lOO  yards  higher  up  the  hill,  in 
the  Well  Road.  The  Bath  Pond,  Mr.  Potter 
observes,  was  only  filled  up  about  twenty-five  years 
ago.  **  I  have  often  seen  it,"  says  he  ;  **  it  was  a 
rectangular  piece  of  water,  about  40  feet  long,  by 
20  feet  wide,  and  rather  deep." 

Mr.  Philps,  to  whom  it  could  not  have  been  a  very 
profitable  venture,  either  relinquished,  or  had  taken 
from  him,  the  monopoly  of  selling  the  water  from  the 
spring,  and  a  Mr.  Adams,  a  potter,  or  seller  of  pottery 
at  Holborn  Bars,  was  now  the  only  person  employed 
by  the  Trustees  to  deliver  the  water. 

The  person  who  actually  erected  the  wells  buildings 
was  one  John  Duffield,  to  whom  the  mineral  spring, 
together  with  the  6  acres  of  land,  was  let  under  a 
lease  or  agreement  from  the  Trustees  bearing  the 
date  June  2,  1701.  The  few  buildings  which 
Duffield  found  around  the  wells  were  temporary 
structures,  standing  on  the  east  side  of  the  Wells 
Walk.  The  first  important  erection  was  that  known 
sometimes  as  the  Great  Room,  as  the  Long  Room, 
the  Assembly  Room,  and  the  Pump  Room — for  all 
these  names  have  been  given  at  one  time  or  other 
to  the  large  room  in  Well  Walk.  Some  thirty  years 
later  another  set  of  buildings,  in  the  same  thorough- 
fare, but  more  to  the  westward,  came  into  existence, 
and  they  also  were  designated  as  the  Long  Room, 
the  Ball  Room,  and  the  Assembly  Rooms.  These 
two  distinct  sets  of  buildings,  bearing  the  same  names, 
have  led  to  some  confusion,  making  it  difficult  for  the 

141 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

readers  of  histories  of  Hampstead  to  readily  distinguish 
between  them.  Mr.  Potter,  in  his  invaluable  book  on 
Hampstead  Wells,  has  made  the  point  quite  clear. 

The  Assembly  or  Ball  Room,  built  by  Duffield,  was 
of  large  dimensions,  measuring  36  feet  by  90  feet,  of 
which  a  length  of  30  feet  seems  to  have  been  divided 
by  a  partition  from  the  other,  and  known  as  the  Pump 
Room  ;  the  two  rooms  being  thus  under  one  roof,  and 
situated  near  where  the  entrance  to  Gainsborough 
Gardens  now  is.  A  tavern,  called  the  "Green  Man"^ 
(now  the  Wells  Tavern,  built  on  its  site  in  1849-50), 
a  chapel  known  as  Sion  Chapel, 2  and  various  shops 
were  next  built.  Gardens  were  laid  out,  and  these 
included  a  large  bowling-green. 

The  searcher  of  old  newspapers  will  find  that 
advertisements  constantly  appeared  of  concerts  and 
other  entertainments  to  be  held  in  the  Long  Room. 
The  earliest  recorded  of  these,  issued  by  Duffield 
and  his  associates,  appeared  in  the  PostmaUy  of  August 
14-16,  1701  :  "At  Hampstead  Wells,  on  Monday 
next,  being  the  1 8th  of  this  instant,  will  be  performed 
a  Consort  of  bothe  vocal  and  instrumental  musick 
with  some  particular  performance  of  both  kinds  by  the 
best  masters,  to  begin  at  10  o'clock  precisely.  Tickets 
will  be  delivered  at  the  Wells  for  is.  per  ticket  and 
dancing  in  the  afternoon  for  6d.  per  ticket  to  be 
delivered  as  before."  Similar  notices  continued  to 
appear  in  the  London  Press  for  some  years  ;  in  one  of 

'  In  172 1  it  was  called  the  White  Stone  Inn.  On  the  site 
of  the  Pump  Room  is  a  new  red-brick  house  called  Wellside, 
built  in  1892,  according  to  an  inscription  on  the  walls. 

«  This  chapel  seems  to  have  disappeared  before  17 19,  as  it  is 
not  mentioned  in  a  description  of  the  property  at  that  date. 

142 


North- West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

May  5-8,  1702,  it  is  notified  that  **  the  tickets  will  be 
IS.  by  reason  that  the  room  is  so  large."  In  another 
of  the  same  season — Postman,  May  28-30,  1702 — it 
is  stated  that  is.  will  be  the  price  of  each  ticket,  *'by 
reason  the  room  will  hold  near  500  persons."  In  the 
Tatler,  No.  201,  July  22,  1710,  a  benefit  **  consort " 
was  announced  for  which  the  charge  for  tickets  was 
2s.  6d.  each. 

The  medical  faculty,  as  may  be  supposed,  took  an 
active  part  in  recommending  the  waters  to  their 
patients.  One  of  the  first  to  draw  attention  to 
their  medicinal  value  was  a  resident  physician — 
Dr.  Gibbons — in  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  who  pronounced  them  "not  inferior  to  any  of 
our  chalybeate  springs,  and  coming  very  near  to 
Pyrmont  in  quality."  He  himself  set  a  practical 
example  in  taking  them  until  his  death  in  1725. 
Several  other  doctors  of  lesser  note  joined  in  praising 
these  waters.  In  1734  a  serious  effort  was  made  to 
revive  their  reputation  by  Dr.  John  Soame,  a 
physician  of  some  repute  in  Hampstead,  who,  in  that 
year,  published  a  book  entitled  **  Hampstead  Wells, 
or  Directions  for  drinking  the  Waters,"  but  in  spite  of 
his  strong  advocacy  of  the  spring,  which  he  called  the 
"  Inexhaustible  Fountain  of  Health,"  the  number  of 
visitors  to  Hampstead  to  drink  the  waters  gradually 
fell  off.  However,  in  1802,  another  attempt  was 
made  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  London  public  to 
the  medicinal  waters  of  Hampstead.  In  that  year 
there  appeared  in  the  London  Medical  Review  and 
Magazine  (vol.  vi.)  an  analysis  of  the  waters  by 
John  Bliss,  Member  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons, 
the  result  indicating  a  pure  chalybeate  water,  contain- 

143 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

ing  few  earths  besides  the  iron.  His  treatise  claims 
for  the  waters  that  "they  have  been  found  very 
beneficial  in  chronic  diseases,  &c.,  and  where  there  is 
general  debility  of  the  system."  Two  years  later — 
1804 — a  local  surgeon,  Mr.  Thomas  Goodwin,  dis- 
covered another  medicinal  spring  at  the  south-east 
extremity  of  the  Heath,  near  Pond  Street.^  He 
seems  to  have  made  a  special  study  of  medicinal 
waters,  and  embodies  the  results  in  a  little  book 
entitled  "  An  Account  of  the  Neutral  Saline  Waters 
recently  discovered  at  Hampstead"  (1804).  The 
analysis  he  gives  shows  a  great  preponderance  of 
sulphate  of  magnesia,  and  his  conclusion  is  that  these 
waters  have  an  affinity  to  the  saline  spa  at  Chelten- 
ham. The  position  of  the  spring  cannot  now  be 
exactly  determined,  but  it  must  have  been  very  near 
to  where  the  Hampstead  Heath  Railway  Station  now 
stands,  although  Mr.  Goodwin  marks  the  position  of 
the  **  New  Spa "  on  a  map  in  his  book  somewhat 
farther  north. 

Having  now  mentioned  the  last  of  the  attempts 
by  doctors  to  make  known  to  the  general  public 
the  health-restoring  qualities  of  the  Hampstead 
springs,  some  account  of  the  principal  building 
and  its  ultimate  destiny  must  be  given.  In  the 
year  17 19,  his  interest  in    the    6  acres  of  land  and 

'  Professor  John  W.  Hales  on  *'  Hampstead  in  the  Tenth 
Century,  being  notes  on  two  Anglo-Saxon  Charters  relating 
to  Hampstead  in  the  times  of  Kings  Eadgar  and  -^thelred" 
(1885),  inclines  to  the  opinion  that  a  pound  once  stood  in  Pond 
Street.  It  was  the  fashionable  Street  in  the  eighteenth 
century  for  the  reception  of  visitors  of  the  class  dignified  as 
the  "  quality."  It  appears  as  Pound  Street  in  Rocque's  map 
(1741-45).     [Trans.  London  and  Middlesex  Ach.  Socy.,  1885.] 

144 


North- West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

the  buildings  upon  it  were  demised  by  Duffield  to  a 
Mr.  William  Luffingham,  at  a  rack-rent  of  ;^450 
per  annum.  Six  years  after  this  (1725),  Luffingham, 
finding  the  Long  Room  did  not  answer,  transferred 
it  for  a  long  term  of  years  to  William  Hoare,  who 
undertook,  at  his  own  expense,  to  fit  it  up  for  a 
chapel.  The  work  of  converting  it  was,  therefore, 
carried  out  at  this  date,  namely  1725  ;i  not  1733, 
as  quoted  by  Park  and  Howitt.  The  date  was 
inscribed  upon  the  bell  and  the  altar-plate  ;  on  the 
former  were  the  words,  ''  New  Chapel,  Hampstead, 
1725,  and  on  the  latter,  "Nova  Capella  de  Hamp- 
stead, 1725."  2  It  was  known  as  the  Well  Walk 
Chapel  and  was  so  used  till  1861-62,  when  the  new 
Presbyterian  Church,  in  the  High  Street,  was  built. 
In  1862  the  newly  formed  corps  of  Rifle  Volunteers 
(3rd  Middlesex),  hired  the  chapel  for  a  drill  hall, 
and  it  was  in  fitting  the  building  for  its  new  purpose 
that  some  interesting  discoveries  were  made.  In 
the  wall  at  the  north  end,  a  large  niche  or  recess 
in  the  thickness  of  the  wall  was  revealed,  with 
traces  of  a  basin  and  pipes  having  been  fixed  in 
it  (which  had  been  removed  to  a  building  called  the 
Wells  House,  near  the  Green  Man  Tavern).  This 
was  evidently  the  spot  where  the  basin  and  foun- 
tain, which  supplied  the  visitors  to  the  Spa,  used 
to  stand.  At  a  later  date — about  1874 — while  some 
workmen  were  washing  off  the  old  colouring  from  the 
walls,  life-sized  figures  of  the  Nine  Muses,  with 
the  name  under  each,  appeared  on  spaces  between 
the    windows,    at    the    sides    of   the    room    farthest 

'  "  Hampstead  Wells,"  G.  W.  Potter,  1904,  pp.  58-59. 
=^  "  Sweet  Hampstead,"  1900,  Mrs.  C.  A.  White,  p.  271. 

145  K 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

from  the  Pump- Room  end.     These  discoveries  placed 
the  original  use  of  the  room  beyond  all  doubt.  ^ 

Much  has  been  written  of  the  fashionable  era 
at  Hampstead.  The  company  who  flocked  to  the 
wells  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  was  considerably 
mixed ;  adventurers  of  both  sexes  found  their  way 
to  the  upland  hamlet,  and  the  idle  and  dissolute, 
as  well  as  the  invalid  and  ennuye,  anxious  to  get 
rid  of  that  wearisome  attendant,  self,  mingled  with 
personages  of  rank  and  fashion  and  learning.  These 
last  included  many  distinguished  members  of  the 
Kit-Kat  Club,  whose  headquarters  during  the  summer 
months  was  the  Upper  Flask  Tavern — Dr.  Garth, 
Addison,  Swift,  Sir  Richard  Steele,  Dr.  John 
Arburthnot  (the  Queen  s  physician),  and  others.  A 
passage  from  Baker's  comedy  of  "  Hampstead 
Heath,"  produced  at  Drury  Lane  Theatre  in  1706, 
put  into  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  characters,  gives 
some  little  insight  into  the  kind  of  company  brought 
together  at  this  time  :  **  Assemblies  so  near  the 
town  give  us  a  sample  of  each  degree.  We  have 
Court  ladies  that  are  all  air  and  no  dress,  City 
belles  that  are  over-dressed  and  no  air ;  and  country 
dames  with  broad  brown  faces  like  a  Stepney  bun; 
besides  an  endless  number  of  Fleet  Street  semp- 
stresses that  dance  minuets  in  their  furbeloe  scarfs, 
and  their  clothes  hang  as  loose  about  them  as  their 
reputations.  ..."  To  the  other  sex — the  fops  and 
the  beaux — we  are  not  introduced.     That  the  subject 

'  The  size  of  the  Long  or  Great  Room  in  Wells  Walk  was  90 
feet  long  by  36  feet  wide  ;  a  length  of  about  30  feet  of  this  being 
doubtless  used  as  a  pump-room,  divided  from  the  larger  room 
probably  by  some  sort  of  partition. 

146 


^;; 


q  Ie'^c. 


I:. 


North-West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

had  not  altogether  lost  its  hold  on  the  play-going 
public  may  be  inferred  from  the  production  of  the 
comedy  or  farce  with  the  title  of  '*  Happy  Hamp- 
stead,"  at  the  Royalty  Theatre,  in  the  year  1877.  The 
pages  of  "Clarissa  Harlowe  "  (1748)  contain  refer- 
ences to  Hampstead,  more  especially  to  the  Upper 
Flask  Tavern,  to  which  readers  of  Richardson  will 
remember  the  unhappy  heroine  fled  from  the  perse- 
cutions of  the  libertine  Lovelace. 

The  entertainments — those  indispensable  auxiliaries 
to  the  successful  running  of  a  Spa — continued  to  be 
popular  for  a  period  of  some  twenty  years,  and 
during  the  season,  which  lasted  from  May  or  June 
till  Michaelmas,  the  wells  must  have  presented  a 
scene  of  gaiety  probably  unsurpassed  by  any 
similar  resort.  But  among  the  indoor  amusements 
gambling  filled  an  important  place  ;  high  play,  with 
probably  a  considerable  admixture  of  unfair  play, 
was  rife  here  as  elsewhere.  As  early  as  1709  the 
tavern  and  raffling  shops  had  acquired  a  sinister 
reputation:  before  1725  the  latter,  and  with  them 
the  gaming  tables,  had  disappeared. 

It  was  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  the 
people  of  Hampstead,  after  being  so  long  accustomed 
to  their  public  assemblies,  could,  all  at  once,  dispense 
with  them.  They  therefore  cast  about  for  a  site 
for  a  new  set  of  rooms  ;  ^  this  they  found  ready  to 
hand,  a  short  distance  westward  of  the  old  rooms 
in    the    same    thoroughfare,    where    some    buildings 

'  For  a  description  of  these  new  Assembly  Rooms  in 
Weatherall  Place,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Mr.  Potter's  book^ 
already  quoted,  and  to  an  article  on  the  subject  in  the  Home 
Counties  Magazine  for  January,  1909,  by  the  present  writer. 

H7 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

already  stood,  which,  by  dint  of  enlargement  and 
the  addition  of  a  new  ballroom,  erected  about 
1735,  answered  all  requirements. 

Many  are  the  associations  connected  with  Well 
Walk,  which  can  only  be  touched  upon.  In 
1 8 17-18  Keats  took  lodgings  here,  in  the  first  or 
second  house  on  the  right  hand  going  up  the  Heath. 
Here  the  greater  part  of  ''  Endymion  "  was  written. 
Sitting  on  a  bench  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Walk, 
overshadowed  by  lime-trees,  which  for  beauty  have 
been  compared  with  the  '*  Cathedral  Aisle,"  near 
Killin,  Hone  last  saw  ''the  poet  of  the  Pot  of 
Basil,  sobbing  his  dying  breath  into  a  handkerchief, 
glancing  parting  looks  towards  the  quiet  landscape 
he  had  delighted  in,  musing  as  in  his  *  Ode  to  a 
Nightingale.' "  ^  Keats  s  bench,  so  marked  by  a 
printed  sign,  stood  in  its  old  place  next  the  Heath 
in  1885.  Both  have  disappeared,  but  the  Heath 
that  he  loved  is  preserved  to  us — 

'* .  .  .  where  sweet  air  stirs 
Blue  hare-bells  lightly,  and  where  prickly  furze 
Buds  lavish  gold  ;  .  .  ." 

"  Endymion." 

With  Hampstead  the  name  of  the  painter  Constable 
will  always  be  associated.  The  Memoirs  of  his 
life  by  Mr.  C.  R.  Leslie,  R.A.,  contain  several 
of  his  letters,  some  of  which  are  addressed  to  his 
friend  Archdeacon  Fisher,  and  others  to  Leslie 
himself;  these  show  his  permanent  residence  **in  a 
comfortable  little  house  in  Well  Walk  "  to  have  been 

»  "  Hone's  Table  Book,"  1827-31,  p,  810. 
148 


North- West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

from  1827  till  about  1834,  in  which  year  his  bio- 
grapher prints  the  last  letter  written  from  there. 
Like  Gainsborough  and  Crome,  Constable  always 
proved  himself  a  heartfelt  lover  of  English  cultivated 
scenery.  *' I  love,"  he  said,  **  every  stile,  and  stump, 
and  lane  in  the  village  ;  as  long  as  I  am  able  to 
hold  a  brush  I  shall  never  cease  to  paint  them." 

Mrs.  Barbauld,  well-known  by  her  prose  writings, 
her  "  Address  to  Life,"  and  other  poems,  settled  in 
1785  at  the  then  rural  village  of  Hampstead.  In 
1802  she  and  her  husband  left  Hampstead  for  Stoke 
Newington.  Other  famous  names  more  or  less 
closely  connected  with  Hampstead  are  those  of 
Shelley,  Coleridge,  Leigh  Hunt,  Collins,  Clarkson 
Stanfield,  and  Joanna  Baillie. 

Analyses  of  the  Hampstead  chalybeate  water  have 
been  made  at  different  times.     Probably  the  earliest 
is  that  by  Dr.  John  Soame,  made  some  time  before 
1734,  the    year    in  which  he  published  his  book   on 
"  Hampstead  Wells."     He  found    that    *' distilled,    a 
gallon  yielded  between    5    and    6    grains  of  a  kind 
of  saline    concretion,  mixed  with  a    yellowish  earth, 
and  had  a  taste  somewhat  like  vitriol  of  iron"  (sul- 
phate of  iron).     Dr.  Donald  Monro  in  his  **  Treatise 
on  Mineral  Waters"  (1770)  describes  it  as  a  trans- 
parent   chalybeate    water    lighter    than    New    River 
water  that  had  been  boiled,  but  heavier  than  distilled 
water ;  which  bears  carriage  and  retains  its  chalybeate 
quality  after    having    stood    six    hours    in    uncorked 
bottles.     An    analysis    of  the  water    from    the  Well 
Walk  springs  was  made  in   1870  by  direction  of  the 
Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  and  another  in   1884 
from  the  fountain  in  Well  Walk  after  removal  to  its 

149 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

new  position  on  the  west  side  near  No.  17,  was  made 
by  Dr.  Atfield,  to  which  a  note  is  appended  that  the 
chalybeate  water  had  become  mixed  with  surface 
water. 

A  description  of  the  state  of  the  spring  in  1889  by 
Professor  C.  Heisch,  F.C.S.,  is  quoted  at  length  by 
Mr.  F.  E.  Baines  in  his  Records  of  Hampstead  (1890). 
The  water  used  for  analysis  was  taken  from  a  shallow 
well  in  the  back-yard  of  No.  17,  Well  Walk,  believed 
to  be  over  the  source  of  the  spring.  The  great 
difference  between  the  composition  of  the  water  now 
and  when  formerly  analysed,  Professor  Heisch  attributes 
to  the  fact  of  the  main  spring  having  been  diverted 
so  that  the  water  decomposes  before  it  can  be  got  at. 
It  has  no  taste  of  iron  and  changes  rapidly  even  in 
well-stoppered  bottles,  and  if  any  use  of  the  water 
could  be  made  as  a  chalybeate,  it  could  only  be  by 
having  a  pipe  direct  from  the  well  to  the  fountain. 

About  1885  the  public  basin  which  stood  on  the 
east  side  of  Well  Walk  was  removed  and  a  new  stone 
drinking  fountain  was  placed  by  the  Wells  Charity  on 
the  opposite  side,  resting  against  the  banked-up  foot- 
path, with  an  inscription  to  the  effect  that  it  is  in 
memory  of  Susanna  Noel's  gift.  Here  the  waters 
may  still  be  tasted,  but  that  is  all ;  the  water  dribbles 
out  too  slowly  to  get  a  full  draught  of  it.  There  is,  in 
fact,  a  notice  warning  persons  against  drinking  the 
water  on  account  of  the  risk  of  injury  to  their  health. 
Yet  down  to  about  the  fifties,  when  Mrs.  White  was 
collecting  materials  for  her  book,  *'  Sweet  Hampstead 
and  its  Associations,"  it  was  quite  common  for  work- 
ing men  from  Camden  and  Kentish  Towns,  and  places 
much  farther  off,  to  make  a  Sunday  morning's  pilgrim- 

150 


North-West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

age  to  Hampstead  to  drink  the  water,  and  carry  home 
bottles  of  it  as  a  specific  for  hepatic  complaints  and  as 
a  tonic  and  eye-wash. 

From  the  nature  of  the  soil  of  Hampstead  its  waters 
are  more  or  less  impregnated  with  iron,  and  therefore 
unfit  for  general  use.  The  hill  had  for  years  yielded 
an  abundant  and  constant  supply  of  water,  for  we  read 
of**  dyvers  greate  and  plenty  full  springes  at  Hampstead 
Heath,"  which  in  fact  was,  as  early  as  the  sixteenth 
century,  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  water-supply  to 
London.  But  it  is  probable  that  the  water  was  only 
sparingly  used  for  potable  purposes,  if  at  all,  for  it  is 
known  that  the  inhabitants  of  London  were  not  water- 
drinkers  —  they  chiefly  drank  small  ale  at  their  meals. 
The  old  conduits  and  other  sources  of  water-supply  in 
Hampstead  are  so  fully  described  by  Mr.  Potter,  ^  that 
mention  need  only  be  made  here  of  the  Shepherd's 
Well,  a  spring  in  Shepherd's  or  Conduit  Fields,  on 
the  eastern  side  of  a  broad  belt  of  meadows  which 
formerly  separated  Hampstead  from  Belsize  Park  and 
Kilburn.  Fitzjohn's  Avenue,  formed  in  the  year  1878 
covers  the  site  of  the  Fields.^  The  spring  here, 
protected  by  an  arch  of  masonry,  was  the  last  at  which 
the  water-carriers  plied  their  calling,  conveying  it  to 
different  parts  of  the  village,  and  charging  2d.  or  3d. 
a  turn  (two  bucketfuls),  according  to  distance.  The 
last  of  these  water-carriers  died  an  inmate  of  the 
workhouse  at  New  End  about  1868. 

Drawings  and  engravings  of  both  the  old  and  the 

'  *'  Hampstead  Wells  "  chap.  ii. 

2  The  site  of  Shepherd's  Well  is  marked  by  a  drinking  foun- 
tain on  the  right-hand  side,  rather  more  than  half-way  up 
Fitzjohn's  Avenue. 

151 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

new  Assembly  Rooms  in  Well  Walk  are  in  existence. 
Of  the  former  there  is  an  Indian  ink  drawing  of  the 
exterior  by  E.  H.  Dixon,  reproduced  by  Mr.  F.  E. 
Baines  in  his  **  Records  of  Hampstead,"  and  by  Mrs. 
Caroline  A.  White  in  "  Sweet  Hampstead."  A  good 
view  by  Chatelaine  of  the  second  or  new  set  of 
Assembly  Rooms,  which  faced  the  open  heath,  is 
in  Lysons'  "  Environs  of  London  "  :  the  engraving, 
dated  1745,  has  been  copied  into  most  books  in  which 
Hampstead  is  described,  but  not  always  with  proper 
regard  to  accuracy. 

Analyses  of  the  chalybeate  water  have  been  made 
at  different  times  ;  it  will  be  sufficient  here  to  give  one 
made  by  Dr.  Atfield  in  1884  from  the  fountain  in  Well 
Walk,  after  removal  to  its  new  position  on  the  west 
side,  near  No.   17. 


Carbonate  of  iron 

Grains 
per  gallon. 

1-82 

Chloride  of  potassium 

Chloride  of  sodium 

4-08 
5-30 

Nitrate  of  sodium    ... 

8-58 

Ammoniacal  salts 

o'o6 

Sulphate  of  calcium            

Carbonate  of  calcium          

20-42 
i-oo 

Carbonate  of  magnesium 

Silica 

5*oo 

1-20 

Organic  matter  (nitrogen) 

0-05 

47*51 


Note. — This  appears  to  be  a  chalybeate  water  mixed  with 
ordinary  surface  water.  If  this  could  be  excluded  a  purely 
chalybeate  water  would  probably  be  obtained. 


A  medicinal  spring  of  a  purgative  character  was 
discovered    about    the    middle    of    the    seventeenth 

152 


North-West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

century  about  a  mile  south-west  of  the  town  of 
Chipping  Barnet,  or,  as  it  is  commonly  called, 
High  Barnet,  on  the  south  of  the  road  to  Elstree. 
The  first  notice  of  the  spring  is  in  The  Perfect 
Diurnaliox  June,  1652,  in  which  its  discovery  is  noted 
and  its  medicinal  virtues  extolled.  A  brief  allusion 
is  made  by  Childrey  in  his  '*  Britannia  Baconica," 
published  in  1661,  to  the  fact  that  there  were  at 
Barnet  **  medicinal  waters  very  famous.'*  Fuller,  in 
his  ** Worthies  of  England"  (Hertfordshire),  says 
that  already  (1662)  "  the  catalogue  of  the  cures  done 
by  this  Spring  amounteth  to  a  great  Number,  inas- 
much that  there  is  Hope,  in  process  of  Time,  the 
water  rising  here  will  repair  the  blood  shed  hard 
by,  and  save  as  many  lives  as  were  lost  in  the  Fatal 
Battle  at  Barnet." 

It  is  not  surprising  to  find  mention  of  Barnet 
Well  in  the  Diary  of  the  gossipy  but  entertaining 
Mr.  Pepys.  That  worthy  paid  the  place  a  visit  on 
July  II,  1664,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  his 
man  Will.  He  records  how  he  took  five  glasses 
of  the  water,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
when  he  reached  home  he  was  not  very  well,  and 
so  went  betimes  to  bed,  but  not  to  sleep ;  during 
the  night  he  got  worse  and  worse,  till,  in  his  own 
words,  he  **  almost  melted  to  water."  On  Sunday, 
August  II,  1667,  he  made  another  journey  to  Barnet, 
arriving  there  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 
found  many  persons  drinking  even  at  that  early  hour. 
Remembering  his  former  experience,  he  took  only 
three  glasses,  and  then  went  to  the  **  Red  Lion," 
where  he  says  he  did  eat  the  best  cheesecakes  he  ever 
did  eat  in  his  life,  and  so  to  Hatfield,  to  the  inn  next 

153 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

my  Lord  Salisbury's  House,  and  there  rested  himself, 
and  bespoke  dinner,  and  so  to  church. 

Dr.  Robert  Wittie  (or  Witty),  in  his  account  of 
Scarborough  Spa  ^  in  1669,  has  these  doggerel  lines: — 

"  Let  Epsom,  Tunbridge,  Barnet,  Knaresborough  be 
In  what  request  they  will,  Scarborough  for  me." 

In  the  year  1677  Alderman  John  Owen,  a  citizen 
and  fishmonger  of  London,  left  the  sum  of  one  pound 
yearly  for  keeping  the  **  Physick  Well "  in  repair,  "  as 
long  as  it  should  be  of  service  to  the  parish."  This 
money  is  still,  or  was  till  recently,  paid  out  of  the  funds 
of  the  Grammar  School.  Sir  Henry  Chauncy  in  his 
"Historical  Antiquities  of  Hertfordshire"  (1700),  says 
of  the  waters  that  the  mineral  impregnating  them 
is  "supposed  to  be  allom,  but  must  certainly  be  a 
mixt  fixt  salt  of  which  'tis  hard  to  determine,"  and 
that  "  they  are  of  great  efficacy  in  cholics." 

Lysons,  whose  account  of  Barnet  was  published  in 
1796,  says,  in  speaking  of  the  well  :  "It  is  now  in 
decay  and  the  water  little  used."  However,  it  con- 
tinued to  be  used  for  some  years  after  this,  as  in 
181 2  Dr.  W.  M.  Trinder  published  a  pamphlet  on 
the  Barnet  Well  water,  describing  it  as  somewhat 
brackish  in  taste,  though  by  no  means  disagreeable. 
The  well  was  then  "  in  a  little  field,  encompassed  by 
a  brick  building."  The  water  contained  a  large 
percentage  of  sulphate  of  magnesia,  and  taken  in 
moderation  it  was  a  good  cleanser  of  the  system. 

The  old  well-house,  observes  Mr.  Thorne,  in  his 
"Environs   of  London"  (1876),  was   pulled   down, 

^  A  later  edition  in  Latin  appeared  in  1778.     (Brit.  Mus.) 

154 


North-West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

and  a  small  farmhouse  erected  on  the  foundations  in 
1840.  The  well  was  then  covered  over,  and  the 
water  obtained  from  it  by  a  small  iron  pump.  It 
was  quite  open  to  every  one,  and  was  occasionally 
resorted  to  by  invalids.  It  can  still  (1906)  be  seen 
in  the  field  belonging  to  Mr.  Vyse,  the  present  pro- 
prietor of  Well  House  Farm,  and  is  reached  by 
a  public  footpath  from  Well  House  Lane,  but  as 
the  authorities  do  not  keep  the  pump  in  order  no 
water  can  be  drawn  from  it. 

At  Lower  Cuffley,  a  valley  lying  about  midway 
between  the  villages  of  Northaw  ^  and  Cheshunt,  is 
a  saline-chalybeate  spring,  which  at  the  time  when 
the  Royal  Court  was  held  at  the  neighbouring  Palace 
of  Theobalds,  was  much  resorted  to,  but  it  suffered 
the  fate  of  similar  places,  and  its  medicinal  qualities 
seem  to  have  lost  their  virtues  as  soon  as  the  spring 
ceased  to  be  fashionable.  The  low  wall,  says 
Mr.  Cussans  ("History  of  Hertfordshire,"  1881), 
which  enclosed  it  has  long  since  gone,  and  the  spring 
itself,  by  subsoil  draining  around  it,  can  now  with 
difficulty  be  traced.  Dr.  Monro  in  his  **  Treatise  on 
Mineral  Waters"  (1770),  speaks  of  analyses  made  by 
Dr.  Rutty  2  at  Dublin  of  this  and  of  the  Barnet 
spring  :  there  was  not  much  difference  between  them, 

'  It  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Domesday  Survey.  In  old 
manuscripts  it  is  written  Northeah,  Northolt,  Northaga  and 
Northoe.  In  more  modern  books  and  documents  North-Hall  ; 
but  this  is  a  mere  vulgar  corruption.  If  Northeah  is  its  proper 
designation  it  would  signify  the  North  Hill— if  Northolt,  the 
North  Wood.  (Cussans,  '^  History  of  Hertfordshire  :  Hundred 
of  Cashio,"  pp.  42-43.) 

«  Author  of  **  Methodical  Synopsis  of  Mineral  Waters/'  1757. 

155 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

but  the  latter  was  the  stronger  tasted  of  the  two ; 
neither  of  them  were  very  powerful.  The  Northaw 
water  must  have  contained  a  considerable  quantity 
of  iron,  as  a  favourite  diversion  of  the  inhabitants 
was  to  induce  strangers  to  make  tea  with  it.  Though 
perfectly  colourless,  as  soon  as  the  boiling  water  was 
poured  on  the  tea  the  iron  combined  with  the  tannin, 
and  formed  a  kind  of  ink — as  much  to  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  tea-makers  as  to  the  delight  of  the 
practical  jokers. 

Writers  in  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century 
describe    East   Acton   as   a   village    situated   on   an 
eminence  just  off  the  Uxbridge  Road  and  about  five 
miles  from  Tyburn  turnpike,  near  where  the  Marble 
Arch  stands.     At  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Old 
Oak  Common,   by  Wormwood  Scrubs,  in  the  angle 
between    the    Great    Western   and  the  Midland  and 
South- Western  Junction  Railways,  stood  Acton  Wells 
House,  in  the  garden  of  which   were  three  springs 
of  mineral  water  that  attracted  attention  as  purging 
waters  in  the  opening  years  of  Queen  Anne's  reign. 
Bowack,  in  his  ''Antiquities  of  Middlesex"  (1706), 
alludes  to  the  famous  mineral  spring  at  East  Acton. 
Lysons    (1795)   says:    **The   water   is   impregnated 
principally  with  calcareous  glauber  salt,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  be  more  powerfully   cathartic   than  any  in 
the    kingdom  of  the   same   description,   except   that 
of  Cheltenham.      The  quantity  of  salts  in  a  pound 
weight  (avoirdupois)  of  the  Acton  water  is  44  grains.*' 
In  the   days  when  it  was  fashionable  to   drink   the 
waters.    East  Acton   and    Friars   Place  (a  small  ad- 
jacent  hamlet)  were    thronged    with    valetudinarians 
and   pleasure-seekers   of    all   ranks,    some   of  whom 

156 


North-West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

came  to  reside  here  during  the  summer  season. 
Dr.  Macpherson  says  these  wells  were  very  fashion- 
able from  about  1730  to  1790.  An  advertisement 
of  July  3,  1771,  states:  **  By  the  recommendation 
of  Physicians  and  the  encouragement  of  the  nobility 
and  gentry  Acton  Wells  are  newly  opened  for  the 
benefit  of  the  public.  Every  Monday,  Wednesday 
and  Friday  from  Lady  Day  to  Michaelmas,  are  public 
days  for  drinking  the  waters  and  breakfasting." 
Every  subscriber  for  a  whole  family  was  charged 
a  guinea  a  year,  and  every  single  subscriber  half 
a  guinea,  for  which  they  had  the  use  of  the  New 
Room,  and  the  water  either  on  the  spot  or  at 
home.  Each  non-subscriber  had  to  pay  is.  for 
water  and  salts.  The  water  was  also  supplied  in 
casks  at  3d.  per  quart.  It  was  on  sale  by  agents  in 
Piccadilly,;Pall  Mall,  Ludgate  Hill,  and  at  '*Mr.  Owen's 
original  mineral  water  warehouse  in  Fleet  Street.'* 
Advertisements  in  much  the  same  strain  appeared 
from  year  to  year,  to  most  of  which  the  name  of 
C.  W.  Gardner,  Proprietor,  is  affixed.  One  dated 
April  13,  1776,  seems  to  foretell  the  closing  of  the 
springs  at  no  distant  date ;  it  informs  the  public  that 
*'  as  Mr.  Owen  finds  the  demand  for  the  water  very 
trifling,  the  sale  is  suspended  to  subscribers."  The 
wells  seem  to  have  gone  to  decay  before  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century  :  the  Ambulator  for  1796 
states  that  the  Assembly  Room  *'  being  nearly  in 
ruins  is  about  to  be  converted  into  two  tenements." 
When  Mr.  J.  Norris  Brewer  was  writing  his  **  De- 
scriptive Survey  of  London  and  its  Environs,"  about 
181 5,  the  Assembly-house  was  occupied  as  a  boarding 
school. 

157 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Walford  says  in  **  Greater  London  ''  (1884)  :  **The 
site  of  these  wells  is  still  to  be  made  out  in  the 
kitchen  garden  of  a  farmhouse  near  the  Great 
Western  Railway,  and  close  to  Old  Oak  Common." 
No  print  of  the  wells,  he  adds,  is  known  to 
exist,  and  the  place  appears  to  have  escaped 
notice  in  the  satires  and  comedies  of  the  day. 
They  are,  however,  mentioned  in  Boyle's  works 
and  by  Allen  and  Hofmann  in  their  treatises  on 
mineral  waters. 

Acton  Wells  are  shown,  with  a  plan  of  the  gardens, 
on  Rocque's  Map  of  London  (1741-45)  on  the  west 
side  of  Old  Oak  Common.  On  good  modern  maps 
a  house  called  Well  House  is  marked  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  south  of  Willesden  Junction, 
but  whether  it  had  any  connection  with  the  Wells 
is  doubtful.  There  is  a  drawing  of  the  Acton  Wells 
Assembly  Room,  dated  1795,  in  a  fine  edition  of 
Lysons'  "  Environs  "  at  the  Guildhall  Library. 

The  little  brook  called  the  Kilburn — Keelebourne 
(Keele,  cold,  and  burUy  brook),  sometimes,  especially 
in  early  documents,  called  the  Cunebourne,'  rose  near 
West  End,  Hampstead.  It  was  an  affluent  to  the 
Westbourne,  according  to  some,  but  others  say  that 
this  stream,  which  is  the  same  that  passed  southward 
to  the  Serpentine  and  emptied  itself  into  the  Thames 
at  Chelsea,  was  called  in  its  lower  course  the  West- 
bourne.     To  the  antiquary,  the  interest   in  Kilburn 

'  Howitt  derived  it  from  the  German  Kohle,  coal-burn  ;  and       I 
it  has  been  derived  from  the  German  Kiihl,  cool-burn.     A  more       | 
romantic  origin  is  from  Kilhlehorn^  the  evil  spirit  in  the  legend 
of  Undine. 

158 


North" West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

will  always  be  centred  in  the  memory  of  its  priory. 
The  earliest  mention  of  the  locality  is  when  a  pious 
recluse  named  Godwyn  retired  here  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  I.,  and  built  a  cell  or  hermitage  near  the 
Kilburn  rivulet,  on  a  spot  surrounded  with  wood. 
The  lines  in  Spenser's  '*  Faery  Queen"  might  almost 
have  been  written  to  describe  this  little  domicile : — 

"A  little  lowly  hermitage  it  was, 

Down  in  a  dale,  hard  by  a  forest  side  ; 
Far  from  resort  of  people,  that  did  pass 

In  traveill  to  and  froe  ;   a  little  wyde 

There  was  an  holy  chappell  edifyde  ; 
Wherein  the  hermit  dewly  wont  to  say 

His  holy  things,  each  morn  and  eventyde ; 
Thereby  a  chrystall  streame  did  gently  play. 
Which  from  a  sacred  fountaine  welled  forth  alway." 

The  cell  was  close  to  the  Watling  Street,  and  the 
prospect  of  London  was  on  the  left  to  St.  John's 
Wood,  but  in  front  and  to  the  right  the  outlook 
was  across  the  meadows  from  which  the  Kilburn 
ran  towards  Bayswater.  Between  the  years  1128 
and  1 1 34  Godwyn  made  over  his  hermitage  to  the 
conventual  church  of  St.  Peter,  Westminster.  The 
Abbot  Herebert,  and  Osbert  de  Clare,  the  Prior, 
settled  the  hermitage  and  lands  upon  three  pious 
maidens,  Emma,  Gunhilda,  and  Cristina,  who  are 
said  to  have  been  maids  of  honour  to  Queen  Matilda, 
or  Maud,  consort  of  Henry  I.  Eventually  Godwyn 
himself  was  made  master-warden  and  guardian  of 
these  ladies.  The  suppression  of  all  religious  houses 
under  the  yearly  value  of  ;^200,  in  the  28th  year 
of  Henry  VHI.  (1536-7),  put  an  end  to  the  existence 
of  Kilburn  Priory,  as  such,  or,  as  it  was  described 

159 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

when  surrendered  to  the  commissioners — the  "  Non- 
nerie  of  Kilnborne." 

Lambert,  in  his  **  History  and  Survey  of  London  and 
its  Environs"  (1806),  remarks:  ''There  are  now  no 
remains  of  this  building  {i.e.,  Kilburn  Priory),  but  the 
site  of  it  is  very  distinguishable  in  the  Abbey  Field, 
near  the  tea-drinking  house  called  Kilburn  Wells." 
This,  says  Walford,  who  quotes  the  above  in  '*  Old 
and  New  London,"  "it  would  appear,  must  have  been 
as  nearly  as  possible  at  the  top  of  what  is  now  St. 
George's  Terrace,  close  to  the  Kilburn  Station  of  the 
London  and  North- Western  Railway,  on  its  northern 
side  ;  for  when  the  railway  was  widened,  about  the 
year  1850,  the  labourers  came  upon  the  foundations 
of  the  Priory,  and  discovered  tessellated  tiles,  some 
keys  of  Gothic  pattern,  and  the  clapper  of  a  bell, 
together  with  human  bones,  denoting  the  presence 
of  a  cemetery."  A  contributor  to  Notes  and  Queries 
(3rd  Series,  vol.  ix.,  1866),  describes  the  position  of 
Kilburn  Priory,  which  was  small  and  unimposing,  as 
standing  "  in  the  space  between  Priory  Road  and 
St.  George's  Road,  and  nearly  behind  No.  26  of  the 
houses  in  the  former  locality.  My  informant,"  he 
continues,  ''now  residing  at  Kilburn,  was  acquainted 
with  an  old  lady,  who  died  about  1845  at  the  age 
of  eighty,  who  pointed  out  to  him  the  place  where 
the  ruins  of  the  Priory  stood,  and  where,  as  a  girl, 
she  had  played  at  hide-and-seek.  The  field  was  then 
denominated  Abbey  Field,  and  in  its  immediate 
vicinity  there  had  been  a  burial-ground." 

In  his  description  of  Kilburn  Wells,  Mr.  Wroth 
("  London  Pleasure  Gardens ")  says  that  from  the 
MS.  history  of  Middlesex,  quoted  by  Park,  the  spring 

160 


North- West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

would  appear  to  have  been  discovered  about  1742; 
the  date  over  the  reservoir  containing  the  waters  was, 
however,  17 14,  and  Walford  (vol.  v.  p.  245)  states 
that  the  spring  was  known  before  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century. 

The  Bell  Tavern,  dating  from  about  1600, 
generally  known  as  *'  Kilburn  Wells,'*  was  the  house 
to  which  the  holiday  folk  of  London  used  to  resort  to 
drink  the  mineral  waters.  It  had  large  gardens,  and 
is  referred  to  as  a  place  in  some  respects  like  Sadler's 
Wells  in  a  **  Dialogue  between  a  Master  and  his 
Servant,"  by  Richard  Owen  Cambridge,  published 
in  1752;   the  lines  run: — 

**  Shall  you  prolong  the  midnight  ball 
With  costly  supper  at  Vaux  Hall, 
And  yet  prohibit  earHer  suppers 
At  Kilburn,  Sadler's  Wells,  or  Kuper's  ?  " « 

A  Dr.  Hales  is  the  first  author  to  describe  the 
waters  of  these  wells.  "  The  Spring,"  he  says,  •*  rises 
about  twelve  feet  below  the  surface,  and  is  enclosed 
in  a  brick  reservoir  of  about  five  feet  in  diameter, 
surmounted  by  a  cupola.  The  keystone  of  the  arch 
over  the  doorway  bears  the  date  17 14."  The  water 
was  a  mild  purgative,  milky  in  appearance,  and  had 
a  bitterish  taste,  and  was  said  to  be  more  strongly 
impregnated  with  carbonic  acid  gas  2  than  any  other 
spring  in  England.  It  was  also  said  to  be  specially 
prized  by  those  who  indulged  in  convivial  potations. 

An  analysis   of  the  water  was  made  in   1792  by 

*  Cuper's  Gardens,  Lambeth  ;  the  water-entrance  faced 
Somerset  House. 

*  The  carbon  dioxide  of  modern  chemists. 

161  h 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Dr.  Bliss,  and  another  in  1804  by  Mr.  Godfrey 
Schmeisser;  the  latter  was  published  at  the  time 
in  Vol.  82  of  the  Philosophical  Transactions. 
These  showed  very  different  results,  but  in  both 
the  feature  of  note  was  the  large  proportion  of 
magnesia  present. 

In  its  halcyon  days  Kilburn  Wells  enjoyed  almost 
as  large  a  share  of  popularity  as  did  Highbury  Barn 
or  Cremorne  in  more  recent  times.  A  prospectus 
from  the  Pud  lie  Advertiser  of  ]u\y  3,  1773,  speaks  of 
Kilburn  Wells  as  a  **  happy  spot  equally  celebrated 
for  its  rural  situation,  and  the  acknowledged  efficacy 
of  its  waters,  and  being  most  delightfully  located 
near  the  site  of  the  famous  Abbey  of  Kilburn,  on 
the  Edgware  Road,  at  an  easy  distance,  being  a 
morning's  walk  from  the  centre  of  the  metropolis, 
two  miles  from  Oxford  Street;  the  footway  from 
Mary-bone  across  the  fields  still  nearer."  At  this 
time  the  gardens  were  enlarged  and  improved  and 
the  house  and  offices  repainted  and  beautified.  The 
great  room  was  said  to  be  adapted  to  the  use  and 
amusement  of  the  politest  companies  and  fit  either  for 
music,  dancing,  or  entertainments.  The  ballroom 
or  Great  Room,  as  represented  in  old  engravings  of 
the  place,  was  in  existence  in  the  memory  of  persons 
living  in  the  eighteen  hundred  and  sixties.  The  old 
house  to  which  the  well  and  gardens  were  attached 
was  taken  down  about  1863,  and  the  present  ^'Bell" 
public-house  erected  on  the  spot.  The  spring  was  in 
use  certainly  up  to  the  year  1 790,  but  not  for  medicinal 
purposes  after  about  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  but  the  **01d  Bell,"  or  ** Kilburn  Wells,"  as  the 
place  was  generally  denominated,  enjoyed  popularity  as 

162 


North- West  London  Wells  and  Spas 

a  tea-garden  as  late  as  1829.  Dr.  John  Macpherson, 
the  author  of  a  work  on  the  mineral  waters  of  the 
British  Islands,  writing  about  the  year  187 1,  says: 
**A  recent  visit  to  Kilburn  induces  me  to  think 
that  its  well  has  lost  most  of  its  salts."  The  waters 
were  said  to  be  strongly  impregnated  with  carbonic 
acid  gas  (carbon  dioxide). 

The  exact  site  of  the  well  was  at  the  back  of  the 
present  buildings  of  the  London  and  South-Western 
Bank,  which  stands  at  the  corner  of  the  High  Road 
and  Belsize  Road.  On  the  Bank  building  is  a  tablet 
stating  that  **On  this  site  was  situated  the  Kilburn 
Wells."  A  member  of  the  Committee  of  the  Kilburn 
Public  Library,  who  has  resided  in  the  neighbourhood 
for  many  years,  saw  the  actual  well  of  mineral  water, 
with  the  stone  steps  and  the  flat  tiles,  when  the  ground 
was  being  prepared  for  the  Bank  building,  some  ten 
or  twelve  years  ago  (about  1895).  He  concludes 
that  the  spring  was  cut  off  by  the  London  and  North- 
Western  Railway  Company  about  1834.  There 
seems  to  be  no  record  of  when  fthe  well  ceased  to 
be  used  as  a  medicinal  water,  but  probably  not  after 
1818.1 

The  best  if  not  the  only  view  extant  of  the  con- 
ventual buildings  is  an  etching  executed  in  the  year 
1722,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  Lysons'  **  Environs  of 
London,"  vol.  ii..  Part  IIL,  1795.  It  represents  a 
small  barn-like  structure,  supported  by  heavy  but- 
tresses, the  only  ecclesiastical  feature  about  it  being 
the  pointed  arch  of  the  doorway. 

»  Partly  derived  from  information  kindly  furnished  by  Mr. 
James  A.  Seymour,  Librarian  of  the  Kilburn  Public  Library 
(1907). 

163 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

The  following  analyses  of  water  from  the  Kilburn 
mineral  spring  are  taken  from  Park's  **  Topography 
of  Hampstead"  (1814),  pp.  65,  66.  It  will  be 
noticed  that  they  differ  considerably  : — 


Analysis  made  by  Dr. 
Bliss  in  1792. 

John 

Oxyde  of  iron,  not  appreciable 

Grs.  per  Gal. 

Carbonate  of  lime      .        8*  40 

Carbonate  of  magnesia 
Extractive  matter 

1075 
3 

Muriate  of  magnesia  . 
Muriate  of  lime  . 

33 
1475 

Muriate  of  soda 

18 

Sulphate  of  soda 

117-50 

Sulphate  of  magnesia  . 
Sulphate  of  lime 
Insoluble    . 

265 
42 
1*50 

513*90 


Gaseous  contents  : 

Cubic  In. 

Carbonic  acid  gas     .       18 
Common  air     .         .        5*5 


Contents  in  a  gallon 


23*5 


Analysis  made  by  Mr.  Godfrey 
schmeisser  in  1804.* 

Grains. 

Calyx  of  iron  (Iron  Oxide)     3^ 

Aerated  calcareous  earth 
(Calcium  Carbonate)    .    24 

Aerated  magnesia  (Mag- 
nesium Carbonate)       .     12  J 

Selenite    (Hydrated   cal- 
cium sulphate)     .         .130 

Muriated  magnesia  (Mag- 
nesium chloride) .         .128 

Muriated  calcareous  earth 
(Calcium  Chloride)       .      6 

Muriated  natron  (Sodium 
Chloride)     .         .        .     60 

Vitriolated    natron     (So- 
dium Sulphate)    .        .  282 

Vitriolated    magnesia 
(Magnesium   Sulphate)  910 

Resinous  matter      .        .       6 


Gaseous  contents 


Cubic  In. 


Hepatic  air  (Sulphuretted 

Hydrogen)       .       (near)     36 
Fixed  air  (Carbon  Dioxide)    84 
Contents  in  24  lbs. 


^  The  modern   terms  inserted  between  the  brackets  in  this 
analysis  have  been  added  for  the  sake  of  clearness. 


164 


CHAPTER  VII 

WEST   LONDON  GROUP  OF  WELLS  AND  SPAS 

Marylebone  Gardens  and  medicinal  spring — Known  as  Marybone 
Spa — Mentioned  in  J.  T.  Smith's  "  Book  for  a  Rainy 
Day  " — Powis  Wells  in  Lamb's  Conduit  Fields — Assemblies 
for  dancing  held  in  Long  Room — Kensington  Wells — 
St.  Govor's  Well — St.  Agnes'  Well  of  medicinal  water — 
Frequented  chiefly  by  the  lower  orders — Medicinal  spring 
at  Earl's  Court  mentioned  by  Faulkner. 

MARYLEBONE  Gardens,  or,  as  commonly 
called,  Marybone  Gardens,  were  situated  on 
the  east  side  of  the  High  Street,  opposite  to  the 
old  parish  church  of  St.  Mary-le- Bourne.  They 
formed  part  of  the  garden  belonging  to  the  old 
Manor  House,  originally  built  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VIH.,  which,  during  the  time  it  was  vested 
in  the  Crown,  was  occasionally  used  as  a  royal 
residence,  particularly  by  Queen  Elizabeth.  The 
gardens  were  detached  from  the  Manor  House 
in  1650 :  the  house,  a  Tudor  building  of  some 
distinction,  had  been  occupied  as  a  boarding  school 
from  1703  and  was  pulled  down  in  1791,  and  Devon- 
shire Mews  was  built  on  the  site.  The  whole 
extent  of  the  original  gardens  was  about  8  acres  : 
this  included  a  large  bowling-green,  stated  in  the 
Gentleman  s  Magazine  for   1813  (Part  i.  p.  524)  to 

165 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

be  112  paces  one  way  and  88  another.  The  ground 
covered  by  the  gardens  comprised  the  sites  of  Devon- 
shire Place,  and  portions  of  Beaumont  Street,  Devon- 
shire Street,  and  Upper  Wimpole  Street,  extending  as 
far  eastward  as  Harley  Street ;  the  southern  boundary 
was  Weymouth  Street — then  called  Bowling  Green 
Lane.^ 

Pepys  writes  of  these  gardens  in  1668  in  his  own 
quaint  manner  :  **  Then  we  abroad  to  Marrowbone, 
and  there  walked  in  the  garden ;  the  first  time  I  ever 
was  there,  and  a  pretty  place  it  is." 

As  a  place  of  amusement  of  the  Vauxhall  type  the 
gardens  date  practically  from  1738,  but  the  Maryle- 
bone  garden  and  bowling-green  came  into  existence  at 
a  much  earlier  period. 

Mr.  J.  T.  Smith's  "  Book  for  a  Rainy  Day  "  contains 
much  curious  information  about  the  Marylebone 
Gardens,  and  details  of  the  feteSy  balls,  and  concerts, 
which  were  held  during  the  run  of  the  season,  are  to 
be  found  in  the  papers  of  the  day.  When  the  gardens 
were  in  a  flourishing  state,  selections  from  Handel's 
music  were  often  played  here  under  the  direction  of 
Dr.  Arne,  the  singers  and  instrumentalists  including 
some  of  the  best  performers  of  that  time. 

In  1755  was  published  an  engraving,  after  a  drawing 
made  by  J.  Donnowell,  representing  these  gardens, 
probably  in  their  fullest  splendour. 2  ''  The  centre  of 
this  view  exhibits  the  longest  walk,  with  regular  rows 
of  young  trees  on  either  side,  the  stems  of  which 
received  the  irons  for  the  lamps  at  about  the  height  of 

»  "  The  Garden  at  Marylebone  Park  "  (from  Memoranda  by 
Samuel  Sainthill,  1659). 
«  Grace  Catalogue,  p.  566,  No.  74. 

166 


West  London  Group  of  Wells  and   Spas 

seven  feet  from  the  ground.  On  either  side  of  this 
walk  were  latticed  alcoves  ;  on  the  right  hand  stood 
the  bow-fronted  orchestra,  with  balustrades  supported 
by  columns.  Over  this  erection  the  roof  was  extended 
considerably  to  keep  the  musicians  and  singers  free 
from  rain.  On  the  left  hand  of  the  walk  was  a  room, 
possibly  for  balls  and  suppers.  The  figures  in  this 
view  are  well  drawn  and  characteristic  of  the  period." 

In  the  winter  of  1773-74,  in  the  course  of  a 
search  made  under  the  direction  of  the  City  Surveyor 
for  the  City  wells,  a  medicinal  spring  was  discovered 
in  the  gardens.  In  the  year  1774  the  Managers  of 
the  gardens  advertised  and  opened  (June  6th)  the 
Marybone  Spa.  The  public  were  admitted  to  drink 
the  water  from  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  tea, 
coffee,  and  other  refreshments  were  also  obtainable. 
The  waters  were  supposed  to  promote  a  healthy 
appetite  and  a  good  digestion,  besides  being  considered 
highly  useful  in  nervous,  scorbutic,  and  other 
disorders. 

The  end  of  Marybone  Gardens  as  an  open-air  resort 
was  now  not  very  long  deferred.  About  1778  the 
site  of  the  gardens  was  let  for  building  purposes  and 
the  formation  of  streets  was  begun.  The  present 
Marylebone  Music  Hall  fronts  the  High  Street,  and 
stands  on  the  site  of  the  old  Rose  of  Normandy  ^ 
Tavern,  from  which  the  gardens  were  entered.  The 
grounds  were,  however,  opened  again  for  a  short  time 
in  1794,  a  sort  of  last  expiring  flicker.  Some  of  the 
trees,    under   which    the    company   promenaded   and 

^  The  "  Rose  of  Normandy  '^  (with  a  skittle  alley  at  the  back) 
existed,  little  altered,  till  1848-50,  when  a  new  tavern  was 
built  on  its  site. 

167 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

listened  to  the  strains  of  music,  are  still  standing 
behind  the  houses  in  Upper  Wimpole  Street. 

At  a  bazaar  held  in  the  Portman  Rooms,  Baker 
Street,  in  1887  (November  22-26),  for  the  benefit  of 
the  charities  of  Marylebone  Church,  an  ingenious 
reproduction  was  devised,  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Harris,  the  architect,  of  the  latticed  alcoves, 
lamp- hung  trees,  &c.,  of  the  old  Marybone  Gardens. 
An  account  of  the  representation  is  given  in  "  A 
Booke  of  ye  old  Marybone  Gardens,"  1887  (sold  at  the 
Bazaar). 

In  Lamb's  Conduit  Fields,  by  the  Foundling 
Hospital,  and  at  the  back  of  Powis  House, ^  which 
stood  near  the  north-west  end  of  Great  Ormond 
Street,  was  a  small  spring  of  mineral  water  called 
Powis  Well,  with  a  house  of  entertainment  and 
pleasure  walks,  which  were  **much  frequented  on 
account  of  the  water  being  good  for  several  dis- 
tempers, particularly  for  the  eyes."  The  spring 
must  have  been  discovered  and  in  use  some  time 
before  172 1,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  following 
reference  to  it.  The  Weekly  Journal  for  January 
17,  172 1,  records  an  accident  occurring  here  by 
which  a  man  was  drowned :  **  Tuesday  morning 
last  happened  a  very  odd  and  deplorable  accident; 
a  man  going  to  a  little  spring  at  the  back  of  Lord 
Powis's  house,  in  Lamb's  Conduit  Fields,  to  which 
there  is  a  great  resort  on  account  of  its  being  reported 
good  in  several  impurities;  stooping  to  wash  his 
eyes,  as  'tis  supposed,  he  fell  headlong  in  and  was 
suffocated."     Another  reference  to  the  spring  or  well 

«  The  first  house  was  burnt  down,  17 14,  and  rebuilt  the  same 
or  the  next  year.     In  1777  this  latter  building  was  taken  down. 

168 


West  London  Group   of  Wells  and  Spas 

occurs  in  a  rare  little  book  ^  called  **  Remarks  on 
London,"  &c.,  &c.,  by  W.  Stow,  printed  in  1722, 
"  for  T.  Norris  at  the  *  Looking-glass,'  and  H. 
Tracy  at   the  *  Three  Bibles,'  on  London  Bridge  "  : — 

**Ormond  Street,  by  Queen's  Square — Here  is  a 
stately  Stone  House,  belonging  to  'Squire  Herbert, 
called  Lord  Powiss ;  and  behind  it  is  a  well  whose 
water  is  reckon'd   Medicinal  for  sore  Eyes." 

An  advertisement  dated  August  4,  1748  (the  name 
of  the  newspaper  does  not  appear)  announces  that — 
''The  Long  Room  at  Powis  Wells  by  Lamb's  Con- 
duit will  be  opened  for  the  Summer  Season,  with 
an  assembly  of  Country  Dancing.  To  begin  on 
Monday  next.  Tickets  to  be  had  at  the  said  Wells 
at  two  shilings  each.  The  doors  to  be  opened  at 
four  o'clock.  There  will  be  good  Musick  and  good 
accommodations."  Another  advertisement  (of  1754) 
is  in  these  terms  :  "  Powis  Wells  by  the  Foundling 
Hospital. — These  waters  are  now  in  their  full  per- 
fection. They  are  of  a  sweetening,  diuritic,  and 
gently  purging  quality,  and  are  recommended  by 
many  eminent  Physicians  and  Surgeons  for  the  cure 
of  breakings  out,  sore  legs,  inflammation  of  the  eyes, 
and  other  scorbutic  and  leprous  disorders,  &c. 
Those  who  send  for  these  waters  are  desired  to 
take  notice  that  the  Bottles  are  sealed  upon  the 
cork  with  the  words    'Powis  Wells  Water.'" 

The  wells  are  marked  on  Rocque's  map. 

Kensington  could  boast  of  several  medicinal  springs, 
with  waters  of  more  or  less  potency.  Faulkner,  in  his 
"History  of  Kensington"  (1820),  says:  "The  first 
mention    of    the    mineral    spring    and    wells  house, 

'  This  reference  was  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  Philip  Norman. 

169 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  Notting  Hill 
House,  occurs  in  the  year  1698."  This  house  was 
the  manor-house  of  Notting  Hill,  and  was  later 
renamed  Aubrey  House,  perhaps  from  Aubrey  de 
Vere,  who  was  lord  of  the  manor  of  Kensington  in 
the  eleventh  century.  Notting  Hill  forms  part  of 
Kensington  parish  and  manor.  The  Rev.  W.  J. 
Loftie  in  his  **  Picturesque  and  Historical  Kensing- 
ton" (1888)  describes  the  present  house  as  having 
some  old  features  about  it.  His  book  contains  a 
view  of  the  house  and  garden,  which  are  shut  in 
from  observation  by  a  high  wall,  and  very  little 
can  be  seen  from  Holland  Walk,  so  that  many 
people  constantly  pass  the  house  and  never  know 
of  its  existence.  It  is  bounded  on  the  west  by 
Holland  Park,  and  on  the  north-east  by  some  of 
the  gardens  of  the  *'  Dukeries."  Before  Faulkner's 
time  the  place  was  occupied  by  George  de  Vismes, 
and  was  celebrated  for  its  chalybeate  wells.  There 
was  some  idea  of  establishing  a  Spa  here.  It  was 
then — about  1838 — the  property  of  Sir  Edward 
Pryce  Lloyd,  afterwards  the  first  Baron  Mostyn. 
The  wells  were  under  the  successive  proprietorships 
of  Dr.  Wright  and  partners  in  1699,  a  Mr. 
Town  in  1720,  and  in  1721  a  Mr.  Reid  appears 
to  have  been  in  possession.  The  house  (not  the 
present  one)  and  wells  were  for  some  years  places 
of  considerable  public  resort,  but  after  the  last- 
named  year  no  further  mention  is  made  of  them 
in  the  parish  books.  Bowack  ('*  History  of  Middle- 
sex,"  1705)  alludes  to  the  springs  as  in  great  esteem 
in  that  year.  Two  wells  are  marked  on  Rocque's 
map  (1746). 

170 


West  London  Group  of  Wells   and  Spas 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  W.  Cleverley 
Alexander  for  kindly  supplying  the  following  par- 
ticulars as  to  the  position  of  the  wells.  He  says  : 
**When  I  took  the  house  {i.e,,  Aubrey  House) 
thirty  years  ago  (about  1874),  there  was  a  well 
under  the  west  wing  of  the  house,  which  had  been 
built  about  a  hundred  years,  and  a  second  well 
at  the  east  end  of  the  house.  Both  were  polluted, 
and  I  had  them  filled  up."  The  springs  contained 
Epsom  or  Glauber  salts,  like  other  aperient  waters 
with  which  London  was  so  amply   supplied. 

There  were  three  other  springs  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, two  of  which  were,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  in  Hyde  Park.  The  third, 
in  Kensington  Gardens,  is  the  only  one  now  existing. 
It  lies  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  Round  Pond,  not 
far  from  the  Palace.  It  is  called  St.  Govor*s  Well, 
from  the  name  of  a  saint  who  founded  a  church  in 
Monmouthshire,  named  Llanover,  near  Abergavenny. 
The  name  is  said  to  have  been  given  to  the  well 
in  honour  of  the  owner  of  the  parish  in  Monmouth- 
shire, Sir  Benjamin  Hall,  created  Lord  Llanover. 
He  was  for  three  years — 1855-58 — First  Commis- 
sioner of  Public  Works  in  London,  and  it  may 
have  been  during  his  term  of  office  that  the  well 
was  in  charge  of  an  old  woman  who,  for  a  trifling 
sum,  supplied  glassfuls  of  the  water  to  wayfarers. 
Mr.  Loftie  ^  says  the  water  of  St.  Govor's  Well 
does  not  deserve  the  reputation  it  acquired  for 
purity,  as  it  is  loaded  with  organic  matter.  The 
other    well    of   medicinal    water,    called    St.    Agnes* 

'  "  Kensington,  Picturesque  and  Historical,"  W.  J.  Loftie, 
1888. 

171 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Well,  was  near  the  east  bank  of  the  Serpentine  at 
its  head,  a  part  which  used  to  be  called  Buckden 
Hill,  overlooking  the  waterworks,  reservoirs,  and 
fountain.  Buck  Hill  Walk  and  Gate  are  reminders 
of  a  time  when  there  was  a  deer  paddock  here. 
It  must  be  the  well  of  St.  Agnes  that  Sir  Richard 
Phillips  describes  in  "Modern  London"  (1804-05): 
'*  In  the  north-west  corner  of  Hyde  Park,  beneath 
a  row  of  trees,  running  parallel  with  the  keeper's 
garden,  are  two  springs,  greatly  resorted  to :  one  is 
a  mineral  and  is  drunk ;  the  other  is  used  to  bathe 
weak  eyes  with.  At  the  former,  in  fine  weather, 
sits  a  woman,  with  a  table  and  chair  and  glasses 
for  the  accommodation  of  visitors.  People  of 
fashion  often  go  in  their  carriages  to  the  entrance 
of  this  enclosure,  which  is  more  than  a  hundred 
yards  from  the  first  spring,  and  send  their  servants 
with  jugs  for  the  water,  and  sometimes  send  their 
children  to  drink  at  the  spring.  The  brim  of  the 
further  spring  is  frequently  surrounded  with  persons, 
chiefly  of  the  lower  order,  bathing  their  eyes.  The 
water  is  constantly  clear,  from  the  vast  quantity 
the  spring  casts  up,  and  its  continually  running  off 
by  an  outlet  from  a  small  square  reservoir." 

Faulkner^  mentions  a  medicinal  spring  at  Earl's 
Court  as  in  his  time  still  retaining  the  name  of 
Billing's  Well,  after  a  former  proprietor. 

'  "  History     and     Antiquities     of     Kensington,'^      Thomas 
Faulkner,  1820. 


172 


CHAPTER   VIII 

MINERAL  SPRINGS  AS   REMEDIAL  AGENTS 

Thermal  waters  :  their  temperature,  whence  derived — The 
mineral  matter  they  contain — British  and  foreign  waters 
compared — Analysis  in  its  application  to  mineral  waters 
very  imperfectly  understood  before  the  nineteenth  century. 

THE  use  of  mineral  springs  as  remedial  agents 
for  certain  diseases,  either  in  the  form  of 
draughts  or  of  baths,  goes  back  to  a  very  early- 
period.  Remains  of  Roman  work  have  been  found 
at  most  of  the  European  baths  which  are  now  in 
favour — at  almost  all  the  thermal  ones.  Some  of 
the  Greek  sanctuaries  of  -^sculapius  had  healing 
thermae,  or  springs,  near  them,  and  the  physicians 
of  that  country  had  great  faith  in  their  curative 
power.i  In  "The  Cities  and  Cemeteries  of  Etruria,"^ 
Dennis  mentions  many  sites  of  ancient  hot  baths, 
some  still  in  use,  notably  the  Bagni  di  Ferrata,  three 
miles  east  of  Civita  Vecchia,  the  hot  springs  lauded 
by  Rutilius  under  the  name  of  Thermse  Tauri,  and 
mentioned  by  Pliny  as  the  "  Aquenses  cognomine 
Taurini,"   in   his   Catalogue  of  Roman    Colonies    in 

'  "The  Home  Life  of  the  Ancient  Greeks,"  Alice  Zimmern, 
1893,  p.  242. 
*  Revised  edition,  1878,  vol.  i.  p.  299. 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Etruria.  *' They  are  still,"  adds  Mr.  Dennis,  ''much 
resorted  to  by  the  citizens  of  Rome  during  the 
summer." 

Luchon,  the  most  frequented  of  the  Pyrennean 
watering-places,  has  been  the  resort  of  invalids  and 
"malades  imaginaires  "  from  the  days  when  Roman 
emperors  drank  these  waters  and  Fabia  Festa  paid 
her  vow  to  the  god  Lixon  (giving  the  name  of 
Luchon  to  the  little  town  built  near  the  rocks,  whence 
the  healing  waters  flowed)  to  the  present  time.^ 

Occasionally  new  springs  are  discovered  in  new 
countries,  but  the  majority  of  them  have  long  been 
known.  In  London,  the  rediscovery  of  medicinal 
springs,  the  sites  of  which  had  been  forgotten,  is 
pointed  out  by  modern  writers  as  having  taken  place 
in  some  instances. 

There  is  much  in  the  observation  of  the  elder 
Pliny  in  his  ''Natural  History,"  that  the  quality  of  the 
constituents  of  mineral  water  depends  upon  the  nature 
of  the  soil  through  which  the  water  passes.  Thus 
in  limestone  and  chalk  districts  an  excess  of  lime  is 
usually  present,  and  where  iron  abounds  in  the  rock 
the  water  becomes  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  im- 
pregnated with  it.  The  natural  warmth  of  the  thermal 
springs  was,  in  accordance  with  the  tendency  of  the  age, 
ascribed  by  the  ancients  to  a  special  mystical  power, 
and  the  effect  of  the  waters  upon  the  human  body 
could  only  be  imperfectly  explained  by  the  poorest 
chemical  analysis.  The  source  of  the  temperature 
of  thermal   waters   remains  a  subject   of  much  un- 

*  <*The  Pyrenees,"  Henry  Blackburn,  ed.  1881.  Luchon, 
or  Bagneres-de- Luchon  (the  Balneariae  Lixonienses  of  the 
Romans),  department  of  Haute  Garonne. 

174 


Mineral  Springs  as  Remedial  Agents 

certainty :  among  the  assigned  causes  are  the  internal 
heat  of  the  globe,  or  the  development  of  heat  by 
chemical  or  electrical  agencies  in  the  strata  through 
which  they  pass.  Mineral  springs,  which  are  found 
in  all  quarters  of  the  globe,  are  most  abundant  in 
volcanic  regions,  where  many  salts  of  soda  and  much 
carbonic  acid  are  present.  Hot  water,  it  is  well 
known,  has  a  greater  power  of  dissolving  solids  than 
cold  water,  consequently  hot — thermal — springs  are 
often  largely  permeated  with  mineral  substances.  The 
more  important  of  these  in  a  therapeutic  sense  are 
sodium,  magnesium,  and  calcium  compounds,  sulphur, 
carbon  dioxide,  sulphuric  acid,  and  iron.  Mineral 
waters,  in  fact,  consist  of  weaker  or  stronger  solutions 
of  salts  and  gases  in  water  of  higher  or  lower  tem- 
perature, but  the  quantity  of  salts  present  commonly 
bears  a  very  small  proportion  to  that  of  the  fluid 
containing  them,  though  this  proportion  varies  con- 
siderably. In  common  spring  water  the  proportion 
of  mineral  matter  held  in  solution  may  vary  from  50 
to  400  or  500  parts  in  every  million  parts,  but  in 
districts  where  water  is  *'  hard  "  the  proportion  may 
rise  to  2,000  parts  in  every  million.  In  mineral  springs 
the  proportion  is  of  course  very  much  greater.  Thus, 
in  the  Vichy  waters  the  solid  contents  are  more  than 
5,000  to  every  million,  those  of  Piillna,  in  Bohemia, 
more  than  six  times  the  latter  amount. 

The  analysis  of  mineral  waters  is  only  a  product 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  the  sixteenth  century 
physicians  began  to  evaporate  mineral  waters  and  to 
try  other  experiments  to  discover  their  qualities,  and 
to  procure  the  solid  bodies  they  contained,  but  the 
progress   of  their   researches  was  very  slow  till,   in 

175 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

the  seventeenth  century,  societies  for  the  advance- 
ment of  natural  knowledge  were  established  in  London, 
Paris,  and  other  places  in  Europe.  Excepting  as 
a  rough-and-ready  note  of  the  ingredients,  the  early 
analyses  are  quite  unreliable,  analytical  chemistry 
being  then  very  imperfectly  understood.  Analysis 
in  the  present  sense  of  the  word,  i.e.,  a  true  qualitative 
and  quantitative  determination  of  the  ingredients  dis- 
solved in  various  waters,  and  of  the  gases  contained 
in  them,  did  not  exist  before  the  third  decade  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  was  first  established  by 
Berzelius  and  Struve. 

Of  the  English  sulphated  or  bitter  waters,  containing 
sulphates  of  sodium  and  magnesium,  those  near 
London,  of  Kilburn,  Barnet,  Northaw,  Sydenham, 
Beulah,  and  Streatham,  were  all  at  one  time  (chiefly 
in  the  last  half  of  the  seventeenth  and  first  half  of 
the  eighteenth  centuries)  much  employed,  those  of 
Streatham  until  quite  recently  ;  in  the  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifties  they  were  sold  in  London  in  large 
pitchers  containing  three  or  four  quarts,  and  even  now 
there  is  a  limited  sale  for  them.^  In  Charles  II.'s 
reign  such  waters  were,  we  learn,  taken  at  the  wells 
early  in  the  morning,  as  laxative  saline  waters  are 
now  taken  at  foreign  spas.  The  English  purging 
waters  were  in  old  times  usually  either  drunk  warm  or 
mixed  with  milk  or  made  into  possets.  Amongst  the 
iron  or  chalybeate  springs  near  London,  the  following 
were  well  known  :  Dulwich  ;  Hampstead  ;  Shad  well  ; 
a  spring  near  the  Tower  of  London ;  Sadler's  Wells, 
Islington  Spa,  or  the  New  Tunbridge  Wells,  both  at 
Islington ;    Hoxton,     and     Bermondsey.      All  wells 

»  Julius  Braun,  "  Handbook  to  the  Spas  of  Europe/'  1875. 

176 


Mineral  Springs  as  Remedial  Agents 

having  the  least  taste  of  iron  perceptible  in  them 
have  been  called  chalybeates.  Iron  usually  exists  in 
waters  in  the  state  of  the  protoxide,  or  carbonate, 
less  frequently  in  that  of  the  sulphate,  and  very  rarely, 
if  at  all,  in  that  of  the  chloride.  The  quantity  of 
iron  present  is  usually  extremely  small,  varying  from 
•12  to  '03  in  the  1,000  parts  of  water.  Some  wells 
considered  distinct  chalybeates  contain  even  less  than 
the  latter  proportion.  Iron  waters  are  scarcely  ever 
thermal.  They  are  extremely  common  in  all  countries, 
and  frequently  contain  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  which 
occurs  in  solution  in  bogs.  They  are  also  common 
near  coal-measures. 

It  is  often  lamented  that  this  country  is  flooded  with 
importations  of  German  and  other  Continental  waters, 
both  for  medicinal  and  table  use,  to  the  neglect  and 
exclusion  of  our  native  waters.  The  answer  to  this 
is  that  British  waters  are  by  no  means  neglected ; 
those  of  them  which  can  be  classified  in  point  of 
efficiency  with  their  foreign  counterparts  have  an 
ample  home  patronage.  Of  the  earthy  mineral  waters, 
those  of  Bath  may  be  classed  with  Baden  and  Con- 
tr6x6ville,  as  the  best-known  springs  of  that  type. 
Among  the  stronger  of  the  saline  waters,  used  for 
bathing,  Droitwich,  Saratoga,  and  Nauheim  may  be 
grouped  together.  Iron  salts  are  present  in  the  waters 
of  Spa,  Pyrmont,  St.  Moritz,  Tunbridge  Wells,  and 
Homburg.  Harrogate  is  the  most  celebrated  for  its 
sulphur  wells,  of  which  it  possesses  very  strong  and 
very  weak  ones  ;  it  can  be  named  with  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
Baden,  and  Aix-les- Bains. 

The  purgative  waters  of  this  country  are,  however, 
not  to  be  compared  for  strength  with  those  of  Fried- 

177  M 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

richshall,  Ofen  (Buda),  Kissengen,  and  other  springs 
of  this  class  on  the  Continent,  unless  the  waters  of 
Woodhall  Spa,  in  Lincolnshire,  be  excepted. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  course  of  mineral 
waters  is  largely  dependent  for  its  success  on  the  im- 
portant concomitants  of  a  complete  change  of  environ- 
ment, climate,  diet,  and  simplicity  in  the  mode  of  living, 
and  that  these  changes  contribute  greatly  to  the  cure 
for  which  the  water  often  gets  the  sole  credit.  With- 
out a  thorough  change  for  the  time  being  in  the 
habits  and  manner  of  living,  and  strict  attention  to 
the  regimen  of  the  health  resort,  it  is  impossible  to 
obtain  the  full  measure  of  benefit. 

London  was  abundantly  supplied  with  aperient 
waters,  but  in  all  cases  it  was  necessary  to  drink  them 
in  large  quantities — the  system  had  to  be  drenched 
with  them — and  this  may  be  a  reason  for  their  having 
been  given  up.  Those  near  London  were  necessarily 
disused  when  the  neighbourhood  became  built  over, 
and  when  they  could  no  longer  be  looked  upon  as 
situated  in  the  country,  and  consequently  could  not 
provide  the  change  of  air  and  scene  offered  by  more 
distant  spas,  such  as  Cheltenham  and  Leamington, 
which  sprang  up  and  eclipsed  the  popularity  of  those 
near  the  metropolis. 


178 


PART   II 

STREAMS   AND    SPAS   SOUTH   OF 
THE   THAMES 


CHAPTER   I 
THE   EFFRA,    FALCON    BROOK,   AND   NECKINGER 

South  London  :  physical  features — Effra  River — John  Aubrey 
makes  no  mention  of  it — Brayley^s  allusion  to  it — Tracing 
of  its  entire  course — Branch  of  the  Effra  near  Kennington 
Church — Another  arm  of  the  Effra — Falcon  Brook — 
The  Neckinger  Stream  :  its  rise  and  course — Navigable 
for  small  craft — Tanneries  and  mills  on  its  banks — St. 
Saviour^s  Dock. 

IN  taking  up  a  relief  map  of  South  London  one 
cannot  fail  to  note  the  great  expanse  of  marsh 
land,  the  river-flat,  which  extends  from  the  clay  valley 
of  the  Beverley  Brook  on  the  west  to  the  Ravens- 
bourne  on  the  east,  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles,  by  a 
width  varying  from  about  one  and  a  half  to  four  miles. 
Except  for  the  slightly  higher  gravel  of  Wandsworth 
Common,  there  is  no  rising  ground  until  the  gentle 
ascent,  the  beginning  of  the  Surrey  hills  which  can 
be  observed  from  the  high  roads  of  Clapham,  Brixton, 
and  Camberwell. 

The  first  chapter  of  Besant's  **  South  London " 
(1899)  contains  a  striking  word-picture  of  the  condi- 
tion of  this  great  tidal  marsh  in  early  times,  long  ages 
before  any  attempt  had  been  made  to  reclaim  it  by 
drainage  and  other  modern  means.  No  cliffs  on  this 
side  overhung  the  river  as  on  its  northern  side,  on 

181 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

which  the  earliest  London  (pre- Roman)  subsequently 
rose.  Like  most  swampy  places,  it  was  the  home 
of  many  water-plants,  of  which,  in  later  times,  Gerarde 
in  his  "  Herball  "  (1597)  mentions  that  the  hedgehog 
grass  grew  in  wet  ditches  close  to  Paris  Garden 
Bridge  and  in  St.  George's  Fields,  and  that  the 
frog-bit  (hydrocharis  morsus-rance)  might  be  found 
floating  in  almost  every  pool  ;  he  speaks  too  of  the 
crowfoot  in  the  lakes  and  slowly-running  or  standing 
waters.  At  low  tide  numerous  streams  might  be  seen 
crossing  this  marsh  on  their  way  into  the  Thames, 
though  when  the  tide  was  up  their  beds  became 
indistinguishable  among  the  shallows.  Among  the 
larger  of  these  streams — to  use  the  names  by  which 
they  were  afterwards  known — were  the  Wandle,  the 
Falcon,  the  Effra,  the  Neckinger,  and  the  Ravens- 
bourne,  besides  others  which  have  disappeared  and 
left  no  name.  The  first  and  last  mentioned  still  exist 
above-ground,  but  the  Effra,  Falcon  Brook,  and 
Neckinger  are  no  longer  visible,  except  that  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  forms  a  small  dock,  called  St. 
Saviour  s  Dock,  at  Bermondsey. 

The  Effra  is  an  interesting  stream  because,  until 
within  the  last  fifty  years  or  so,  it  ran,  an  open,  clear, 
and  sparkling  brook,  over  a  gravelly  bottom  through 
the  Dulwich  fields,  and  supplied  fresh  water  to  the 
neighbourhood.  The  bed  of  part  of  its  course  could  be 
seen  a  few  years  ago,  though  only  for  some  half-mile 
of  its  windings,  and  these  through  a  valley  not  then 
handed  over  to  the  builder. 

A  few  words  as  to  its  past  :  there  were  traditions 
that  King  Cnut  with  his  fleet  sailed  up  the  Effra  as 
far  as  Brixton,  for  the  Effra  was  to  South  London 

182 


The  Effra,  Falcon  Brook,  and  Neckinger 

what  the  Fleet  was  to  the  north — a  brook  winding 
among  the  fields  at  the  foot  of  the  low  Surrey  hills. 
Aubrey,  in  his  ''Natural  History  and  Antiquities  of 
Surrey  "  (commenced  1673),  has  no  reference  to  the 
Effra.  Brayley,^  speaking  of  Kennington  Church- 
yard, says  :  *'  On  the  south  side  is  a  small  stream 
called  Effra,  over  which  was  a  bridge  that  was  repaired 
by  the  Canons  of  Merton  Abbey,  to  whom  lands 
had  been  devised  for  the  purpose.  This  rivulet  takes 
its  rise  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Brixton  District  [this 
is  wrong,  as  it  really  rose  in  the  hills  of  Norwood], 
and  flowing  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  highway, 
has  been  partly  arched  over,  for  the  convenience  of 
access  to  the  new  ranges  of  houses  that  have  been 
built  there."  Again  he  alludes  to  it  in  speaking 
of  Claylands,  an  estate  near  the  Kennington  Oval, 
saying  :  "  Claylands  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
the  Effra."  Unfortunately,  in  trying  to  trace  its 
course  from  maps,  there  is  not  much  help  to  be  got. 
On  Rocque's  map  there  is  a  stream,  apparently 
intended  for  the  Effra,  but  which  is  named  **  The 
Shore."  In  a  map  of  1753,^  it  is  shown  falling  into 
the  Thames  a  little  to  the  eastward  of  Vauxhall 
Bridge. 

An  old  inhabitant  of  Stockwell,  who  could  look 
back  some  fifty  years  with  a  fresh  memory,  sometime 
in  the  year  1891  traversed  the  ground  through  which 
the  Effra  formerly  flowed,  in  company  with  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  South  London  Press,     Parts  of  his 

«  *'  History  of  Surrey,"  vol,  iii.  pp.  362-3  ;  date  of  vol.  i., 
1841, 

2  This  map  is  reproduced  by  the  Rev.  H.  H.  Montgomery, 
''  History  of  Kennington,"  1889. 

183 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

description  of  its  course  are  here  embodied.  To 
speak  of  the  Effra  as  a  river,  he  confessed,  was  an 
extravagance,  for  in  point  of  fact  the  **  river  "  partook 
more  of  the  character  of  a  moderately  capacious 
stream,  consisting  mainly  of  the  surface  water  arising 
in  the  higher  ground  of  Norwood  and  the  then  agri- 
cultural neighbourhood  of  Brock  well  and  Heme  Hill. 
The  Effra  was,  at  all  events,  a  troublesome  stream  in 
the  lower  levels  of  Stockwell  and  Kennington,  for  a 
downfall  of  rain,  even  of  a  moderate  character,  would 
flood  the  basements  of  the  houses  hereabouts. 

As  to  the  course  taken  by  the  stream  after  running 
by  the  side  of  Croxted  Lane,  Dulwich,  there  is  clear 
evidence  of  the  former  existence  of  the  Effra  from 
Norwood  Road,  which  adjoins  Half  Moon  Lane  ;  but 
here  for  the  nonce  all  traces  of  the  stream  are  elimi- 
nated. There  was  a  very  pronounced  bend  between 
the  point  now  occupied  by  the  railway  bridge  (at 
Heme  Hill  Station)  and  the  entrance  of  Dulwich 
Road,  when  the  Effra  pursued  a  straight  course  for 
half  a  mile  or  so,  skirting  the  park  of  Brockwell 
House  on  its  north-east  side.  Near  the  bottom  of 
the  slope  of  Brockwell  Park,  along  the  Norwood  Road 
side,  there  can,  or  could  recently,  be  seen  the  bed  of 
a  streamlet  that  ran  into  the  Effra  just  opposite  to 
where  the  park  gates  now  are.  This  accounts  for  the 
valley  along  which  the  tramway  to  Norwood  now  runs. 

A  lady  writing  from  No.  32,  Tulse  Hill,  in  August, 
1 89 1,  to  a  local  newspaper,  said  the  Effra  once  flowed 
at  the  foot  of  the  garden  of  that  house,  and  that  its 
banks  might  be  traced  for  some  little  distance  in  the 
new  road  (Leander  Road)  leading  out  of  Josephine 
Avenue,  Water  Lane. 

184 


The  Effra,  Falcon  Brook,  and  Neckinger 

Coming  to  the  Brixton  end  of  the  Dulwich  Road  its 
course  is  more  difficult  to  define,  but  it  is  clear  that 
it  meandered  through  Rush  Common,  which  was 
between  Dulwich  and  Coldharbour  Lane,  and  took 
its  course  in  the  direction  of  Saltoun  Road.  Even- 
tually it  emerged  at  the  point  now  occupied  by  the 
Atlantic  Road,  near  Brixton  Station,  and  then  striking 
across  in  the  direction  of  Pope's  Road,  it  entered  the 
Brixton  Road  at  the  corner  of  Canterbury  Road. 
Here  it  became  larger — its  average  size  in  the  main 
road  was  about  12  feet  wide  and  6  feet  deep.  Its 
course  was  through  the  forecourts  of  the  houses 
on  the  Camberwell,  or  east,  side  of  the  thoroughfare, 
access  to  the  houses  being  gained  by  little  bridges. 
On  reaching  St.  Mark's  Church,  Kennington,  it  took 
an  abrupt  turn,  crossed  Clapham  Road,  and  passing 
along  the  south  side  of  the  Oval,  emerged  at  Vauxhall, 
where  it  passed  under  a  bridge  called  Cox's  Bridge, 
falling  into  the  Thames  a  little  to  the  eastward  of 
Vauxhall  Bridge. 

A  branch  of  the  Effra  parted  from  the  main  stream 
just  before  Kennington  Church  was  reached,  and 
bending  in  a  northerly  direction  towards  the  South 
Lambeth  Road,  flowed  along  the  lane  leading  by  the 
side  of  the  present  Vauxhall  Park  to  the  Crown 
Building  Works  of  Messrs.  Higgs  and  Hill,  at  the 
corner  of  Lawn  Lane,  turning  almost  at  right  angles 
up  the  South  Lambeth  Road  towards  Vauxhall  Cross. 
Another  arm  of  the  Effra  forms  a  piece  of  ornamental 
water  in  the  grounds  of  "  Belair,"  '  one  of  the  noted 
maisons  grandes  of  Dulwich,  in  the  Gallery  Road. 

'  Built  by  Adams  (of  Adelphi  fame)  in  1780. 
185 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

The  Effra  Road,  from  Water  Lane  to  the  Brixton 
Road,  serves  to  keep  the  name  in  remembrance. 

The  Falcon  Brook,  another  vanished  London  river, 
rising  on  the  south  side  of  Balham  Hill,  flowed  almost 
due  north  between  Clapham  and  Wandsworth  Common 
to  Battersea  Rise,  which  it  crossed.  Turning  abruptly 
to  the  west,  it  ran  along  Lavender  Road,  crossed  the 
York  Road,  and  discharged  itself  into  the  Thames  by 
Battersea  Creek,  which  is  all  that  now  remains  of 
the  little  river,  except  the  underground  sewer  which 
passes  along  its  former  course.  Its  name  is  preserved 
in  the  Falcon  Road,  leading,  by  Ingrave  Street,  to 
the  Creek,  and  in  a  modern  public-house,  which  sup- 
planted the  original  **  Falcon,"  a  somewhat  rustic 
building  which  harmonised  well  with  its  surroundings, 
which  were  of  quite  a  rural  character. 

"In  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century," 
writes  Robert  Chambers,  in  his  "  Book  of  Days," 
**  there  flourished  at  the  corner  of  the  lane  leading 
from  the  Wandsworth  Road  to  Battersea  Bridge  a 
tavern  yclept  *  The  Falcon,'  kept  by  one  Robert 
Death — a  man  whose  figure  is  said  to  have  ill  com- 
ported with  his  name,  seeing  that  it  displayed  the 
highest  appearance  of  jollity  and  good  condition." 
But  Mr.  Death  has  long  since  submitted  to  his  mighty 
namesake;  **  The  Falcon"  is  gone,  and  the  very  place 
can  scarcely  be  distinguished  among  the  spreading 
streets  which  now  occupy  these  parts. 

The  waterside  division  of  Bermondsey,  or  that  part 
of  the  parish  situate  east  of  St.  Saviour's  Dock,  and 
adjoining  the  parish  of  Rotherhithe,  is  intersected  by 

i86 


The  Effra,  Falcon  Brook,  and  Neckinger 

several  streams  or  watercourses.  One  of  these — the 
Neckinger  (or  Neckenger) — rose  at  the  foot  of  Den- 
mark Hill  and  adjacent  parts,  and  after  passing  in 
two  streams  under  the  Old  Kent  Road,  united  north 
of  it,  and  reached  the  Thames  at  St.  Saviour's  Dock, 
which,  in  fact,  is  the  enlarged  mouth  of  the  old  river. 
Besides  the  bridge  which  spanned  it  at  the  Grange 
Farm,  there  was  another  where  it  crossed  the  Old 
Kent  Road,  near  the  spot  where  the  Albany  Road 
joins  the  latter  road.  This  bridge  was  known  as 
Thomas-a-Watering,  from  St.  Thomas,  the  patron  of 
the  dissolved  monastery,  or  hospital,  of  that  name  in 
South wark.  It  was  the  most  southern  point  of  the 
boundary  of  the  Borough  of  Southwark,  and  in  ancient 
days  the  first  halting-place  out  of  London  on  the  road 
into  Kent.  Chaucer's  pilgrims  passed  it  on  their  way 
to  the  shrine  of  St.  Thomas  a  Becket  at  Canterbury : 

**And  forth  we  riden,  a  litel  moore  then  paas, 
Unto  the  wateryng  of  Seint  Thomas, 
And  there  our  Hoost  bigan  his  hors  areste."' 

The  Neckinger  was  formerly  navigable  for  small 
craft  from  the  Thames  to  the  precincts  of  Bermondsey 
Abbey,  and  gives  name  to  the  Neckinger  Road,  which 
is  at  a  short  distance  southward  of  Jacob's  Island  ^  (a 

^  Prologue  to  "  Canterbury  Tales." 

=^  "  London,'*  Chas.  Knight,  1842,  vol.  iii.  p.  20.  Here  is  a 
short  account  of  the  "Island":  '* Jacob's  Island — formed  by 
a  stream,  about  20  feet  wide,  which  entirely  encircles  a  cluster 
of  mean  and  dilapidated  houses,  to  which  access  is  gained  by 
about  a  dozen  wooden  bridges  from  the  *  terra  firma '  on  the 
other  side  of  the  stream.  This  stream  is  bounded  on  the  four 
sides  by  Mill  Street,   Bermondsey  Wall,  Nutkin's  Court,  and 

187 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

spot  rendered  familiar  in  the  pages  of  one  of  Dickens's 
most  popular  works,  "  Oliver  Twist"),  and  connecting 
Abbey  Street  with  the  Spa  Road.  When  the  abbey 
was  destroyed,  and  the  ground  passed  into  the  pos- 
session of  others,  the  houses  which  were  built  on  the 
site  still  received  a  supply  of  water  from  this  water- 
course. In  process  of  time  tanneries  were  established 
here,  most  probably  on  account  of  the  supply  of  fresh 
water  obtainable  every  twelve  hours  from  the  river. 
*'  There  appears  reason  to  believe,'*  says  Charles 
Knight,^  in  his  "  London,"  **that  the  Neckinger  was 
by  degrees  made  to  supply  other  ditches,  or  small 
watercourses,  cut  in  different  directions,  and  placed  in 
communication  with  it ;  for,  provided  they  were  all 
nearly  on  a  level,  each  high  tide  would  as  easily  fill 
half  a  dozen  as  a  single  one.  Had  there  been  no 
mill  at  the  mouth  of  the  channel  the  supply  might 
have  gone  on  continuously ;  but  the  mill  continued  to 
be  moved  by  the  stream,  and  to  be  held  by  parties 
who  neither  had  nor  felt  any  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Neckinger  manufacturers.  Disagreements  thence 
arose,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  last  century  (eigh- 
teenth) the  tanners  of  the  central  parts  of  Bermondsey 
instituted  a  suit  against  the  owner  of  the  mill  for 
shutting  off  the  tide  when  it  suited  his  own  purpose 
so  to  do,  to  the  detriment  of  the  leather  manufacturers. 
The  ancient  usages  of  the  district  were  brought  for- 
ward in  evidence,  and  the  result  was  that  the  right 
of  the  inhabitants  to  a  supply  of  water  from  the  river, 

London  Street,  and  from  the  east  end  of  the  latter  'Jacob's 
Island '  can  best  be  seen .  The  ditch  becomes  filled  with  water 
at  every  high  tide.'^ 

*  '*  London,"  Chas.  Knight,  1842,  vol.  iii.  pp.  20  and  21. 

188 


The  Effra,  Falcon  Brook,  and  Neckinger 

at  every  high  tide,  was  confirmed,  to  the  discomfiture 
of  the  mill-owner.  Many  of  the  largest  establishments 
in  Bermondsey  were  for  years  dependent  on  the  tide- 
stream  for  the  water  required  in  the  manufacture  of 
leather.  Other  manufacturers,  however,  constructed 
artesian  wells  on  their  premises,  while  the  mill  at  the 
mouth  of  the  stream  was  worked  by  steam-power,  so 
that  the  channel  itself  became  much  less  important 
than  in  former  times.  Latterly  this  ditch,  or  *  tide- 
stream,'  as  it  was  sometimes  called,  was  under  the 
management  of  commissioners,  consisting  of  the  prin- 
cipal manufacturers,  who  were  empowered  to  levy  a 
small  rate  for  its  maintenance  and  repair." 

In  **Inns  of  Old  Southwark"  (Rendle  and  Norman, 
1888)  it  is  suggested  that  Neckenger  was  probably  a 
place  of  execution,  for  the  prior  and  monks  of  Ber- 
mondsey had  extensive  rights  under  their  charters, 
among  the  rest  Infangthef — the  right  to  catch,  judge, 
and  punish  a  thief  caught  in  their  manor,  and  the 
punishment  was  most  commonly  the  gallows.  The 
spot  afterwards  known  as  the  Devil's  Neckenger 
had  been  of  old  the  place  of  execution  for  the  manor 
of  Bermondsey.  The  ''Devol's  Neckenger"  is  shown 
on  a  map  of  1740.^ 

^  Neckenger  (the  corrupt  form  of  Neckercher)  is  an  old  word 
for  a  cravat,  neck-cloth,  or  any  other  covering  for  the  neck. 
Neckenger  as  a  place  of  execution  may  possibly  contain  a  grim 
allusion  to  the  rope  round  the  neck  of  a  malefactor. 


189 


CHAPTER   II 

SOUTH   LONDON   SPAS  AND  WELLS 

Bermondsey  Spa — Opened  by  an  artist,  Thomas  Keyse — Mr. 
William  Herbert,  one  of  the  singers  engaged  here ;  he 
afterwards  became  first  librarian  of  the  Guildhall  Library — 
Gallery  of  Paintings  by  Keyse — Picture-model  of  siege  of 
Gibraltar — Lambeth  Wells — Dancing  and  musical  enter- 
tainments— Water  esteemed  serviceable  in  disorders  of 
the  eyes — "  Dog  and  Duck/'  otherwise  St.  George^s  Spa — 
Its  career  under  Hedger — Old  stone  sign  of  the  inn  let  into 
wall  of  Bethlehem  Hospital — Lady  well — Two  wells  here  : 
one  medicinal — Coping-stones  preserved  and  form  the  rim 
of  a  drinking  fountain  at  the  Ladywell  Public  Baths — 
Shooter's  Hill — Its  height  and  structure — John  Evelyn 
drinks  the  waters  of  the  mineral  spring  here — Dipping 
Well  on  the  top  of  the  hill. 

TRAVELLERS  by  the  Greenwich  Railway  are 
familiar  with  a  station  called  Spa  Road,  in 
Bermondsey,  but  probably  few  of  them  could  tell  how 
it  came  by  that  name.  About  600  yards  east 
of  the  station,  where  the  Grange  Road  intersects 
the  Spa  Road,  a  chalybeate  spring  was  discovered 
about  the  year  1770,  either  in  the  grounds  of  the 
Waterman's  Arms  Tavern,  or  on  some  waste 
land  adjoining,  for  at  that  time  there  were  open 
fields  stretching  away  to  the  Kent  Road.  The 
premises    having    become    vacant    were    purchased 

190 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

about  1765,  along  with  some  grounds  adjoining,  by 
an  artist,  Mr.  Thomas  Keyse,  who  opened  them  as 
a  place  for  tea-drinking.  The  spring,  probably  a 
weak  chalybeate,  may  have  helped  to  increase  tjie 
attractions  of  the  gardens,  though  the  services  of  the 
proverbial  physician  seem  not  to  have  been  invoked, 
and  no  analysis  of  the  water  appears  to  be  on  record. 
In  fact  Bermondsey  was  never  a  Spa,  except  in  name, 
and  it  is  probable  that  Keyse  was  not  long  in 
recognising  this.  In  1784  he  obtained  a  licence  from 
the  Surrey  magistrates  for  musical  entertainments, 
after  the  manner  of  Vauxhall,  and  these,  with  an 
expenditure  of  ;^4,ooo  on  decorations,  brought  his 
place  into  considerable  popularity.  He  had  also 
secured  the  services  of  Jonas  Blewitt,  a  distinguished 
organist  of  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
who  composed  the  music  of  many  songs  for  the 
entertainments  at  the  Spa.  One  of  the  singers 
engaged  by  Keyse  for  his  concerts,  in  the  season  of 
1788,  was  a  Mr.  William  Herbert,'  who  has  left  a 
few  impressions  of  the  Spa  in  the  Memoirs  of  his  life 
(preserved  in  the  Guildhall  Library).  The  gardens, 
he  says,  *'  were  spacious — more  so  in  some  respects 
even  than  Vauxhall — there  was  a  fine  band  ;  and 
what  was  wanting  at  Vauxhall,  a  large  field  at  the 
back,  parted  from  the  gardens  by  a  canal  (Neck- 
inger.'*)  and  ^^^z'^^:i:-^^m^."  There  were  the  usual 
arbours  and   benches   for   tea-drinking,    and   on   the 

^  After  a  somewhat  chequered  career,  during  which  he  kept 
a  bookseller^s  shop,  perhaps  discovering  thereby  what  was  his 
real  bent,  Mr.  Herbert  had  the  distinction  of  being  elected  in 
1828  the  first  librarian  of  the  Guildhall  Library,  and  this  post 
he  continued  to  fill  until  his  retirement  in  1845. 

191 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

north-east  side  of  the  gardens  was  a  lawn  of  about 
3  acres.  An  occasional  display  of  fireworks  took 
place,  and  the  gardens  and  a  cascade  (introduced 
about  1792)  were  illuminated. 

The  permanent  indoor  attraction  was  the  Gallery 
of  Paintings,  the  pictures  all  executed  by  Keyse,  who, 
from  1765-68,  was  an  occasional  exhibitor  at  the 
Society  of  Artists.  The  subjects  were  taken  from  still 
life,  chiefly  representations  of  shop  interiors,  one  of 
a  butcher's  shop  and  another  of  a  greengrocer's  shop 
being  particularly  remarkable  for  their  close  imitation 
of  nature.  They  were  painted,  in  short,  with  all  the 
minuteness  of  the  Dutch  School,  and  though  not  of 
a  high  order,  yet,  regarded  as  the  work  of  a  self- 
taught  artist,  possessed  uncommon  merit.  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds  paid  him  two  visits.  Admission  to  the 
gardens  was  gained  by  the  purchase  of  a  check  in 
copper  or  lead,  for  a  shilling,  half  the  value  being 
allowed  in  wine.  On  special  occasions  the  admission 
was  half  a  crown  or  three  shillings.  Perhaps  the 
waters  were  not  entirely  neglected,  but  of  these 
nothing  is  said  ;  the  proprietor  apparently  found  his 
entertainments  sufficiently  lucrative  without  pressing 
their  sale.  He  was  for  some  time  successful ;  a  clever 
picture-model  of  the  siege  of  Gibraltar,  the  height  of 
the  "  Rock "  50  feet  and  its  length  200  feet,  in  fire- 
works and  transparencies,  occupying  a  large  space  of 
ground,  designed  by  Keyse  himself,  is  mentioned  in 
accounts  of  the  place.  Pony  races  were  run  in  the 
grounds.  The  Picture  of  London  for  1 802  mentions 
in  the  ** Almanack  of  Pleasures"  under  July  17, 
'*  A  silver  cup  run  for  at  Spa  Gardens,  Bermondsey, 
by  gentlemen's   ponies."      Mr.    J.   T.    Smith,  in  his 

192 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

^*  Book  for  a  Rainy  Day,"  relates  how  he  paid  a  visit 
to  the  Spa  in  the  year  1795,  when  he  was  personally 
conducted  round  it  by  Keyse,  who,  Smith  says,  was 
in  person  "a  little  thick-set  man,  with  a  round  face, 
arch  look,  closely  curled  wig  surmounted  by  a  small 
three-cornered  hat,  put  knowingly  on  one  side,  not 
unlike  Hogarth's  head  in  his  print  of  the  Gates  of 
Calais."  At  the  time  of  Smith's  visit  the  once-famed 
resort  was  on  the  decline,  and  only  remained  open  for 
about  five  years  after  the  death  of  Keyse  on  February 
8,  1800.  His  successors  in  the  management  failed  to 
make  it  pay,  and  it  was  closed  about  1804  o^  1S05. 
The  house  in  which  Keyse  lived  and  died  was  a 
large  wooden-fronted  building,  consisting  of  square 
divisions  in  imitation  of  scantlings  of  stone.  There 
are  a  few  tokens  of  the  place  extant  (about  the  size 
of  a  halfpenny)  ^  and  the  name  and  site  are  kept  in 
remembrance  by  the  Spa  Road. 

In  the  reign  of  William  HI.  an  announcement 
appeared  in  the  London  Gazette  of  April  27-30,  1696, 
which  ran  thus  :  '*  Lambeth  purging  waters  in  Lang- 
ton  Gardens,  Lambeth  Fields,  near  the  'Three 
Coneys,'  will  be  opened  to-morrow.  The  place  is 
extremely  pleasant  and  fitted  for  the  entertainment 
of  persons  of  all  Qualities.  On  Tuesdays,  Wednes- 
days and  Fridays  the  musick  will  be  continued  till 
four  after  noon,  and  the  other  days  till  seven.     To 

^  These  were  of  extremely  coarse  workmanship  ;  probably 
used  as  tickets  of  admission :  Obv.  Two  Keys,  and  between 
them  T.K.  in  monogram.  Legend,  bermondsey  spa  gardens. 
Rev.  A  group  of  musical  instruments,  and  in  the  centre  a 
flaming  heart.     1789. 

19?  N 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

prevent  mistakes,  on  the  top  of  the  House  which 
covers  the  Well  is  a  Golden  Ball."  One  cannot  in 
the  absence  of  other  data  be  quite  certain  that  this 
was  the  first  public  announcement  of  the  opening  of 
Lambeth  Wells ;  it  reads  rather  as  if  it  were  not — 
the  more  so  as  such  places  usually  began  by  merely 
supplying  the  waters ;  the  entertainments  came 
afterwards.  The  wells  consisted  of  two  springs, 
distinguished  as  the  Nearer  and  Farther  Well,  and 
were  situated  in  Three  Coney  Walk,  now  called 
Lambeth  Walk.  The  water  was  supplied  to  St. 
Thomas's  Hospital  and  elsewhere  at  a  penny  per 
quart ;  to  the  poor  it  was  free.  The  usual  price  of 
admission  was  threepence,  including  the  music. 
From  an  advertisement  in  the  Postman  of  March  28, 
1700,  we  learn  that  the  season  for  drinking  the  waters 
began  that  year  on  Easter  Monday.  Another 
advertisement,  appearing  in  the  Daily  Courant  for 
March  8,  1721,  announces"  a  Consort  of  very  good 
music,  with  French  and  Country  dancing.  .  .  . 
Note — There  will  be  attendance  given  every 
morning  to  any  Gentlemen  or  Ladies  that  have 
occasion  to  drink  the  waters." 

These  ''  Consorts  "  underwent  further  development 
when  a  Mr.  Ireland  (successor  to  one  Keeffe),  be- 
came proprietor,  after  about  1740,  in  whose  time  a 
musical  society  was  formed  and  met  here  monthly 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Sterling  Goodwin, 
organist  of  St.  Saviour's,  Southwark.^  The  wells 
remained  in  some  degree  of  credit  till  about  1736, 
when  they  met  with  a  rival  in  those  of  St.  George's 
Spa  on  the  borders  of  the  parish.     We  incidentally 

'  J.  Nichols,  *'  History  and  Antiquities  of  Lambeth,"  1786,  p.  65. 

194 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

learn  that  there  were  grand  gala  days  at  Lambeth 
Wells  in  1747,  and  in  the  year  1752  was  celebrated 
a  penny  wedding,  for  the  benefit  of  a  young  couple. 
A  few  years  after  this  the  wells  gradually  declined, 
and  the  place  at  length  became  a  public  nuisance, 
the  proprietor  was  refused  a  licence,  and  the  premises 
were  let  as  a  Methodist  Meeting  House.  Bray,  in 
his  continuation  of  Manning's  **  History  of  Surrey  " 
(18 14),  says  the  place  had  become  a  common  ale- 
house by  the  name  of  "  The  Well."  The  wells 
themselves,  though  long  closed  to  the  public,  were 
existing  in  1829,  in  which  year  a  public-house,  the 
sign  of  the  "  Fountain,"  in  Lambeth  Walk,  formerly 
the  house  of  entertainment  attached  to  them,  was 
taken  down.  In  digging  for  the  erection  of  another 
public-house  on  the  same  site,  many  glass  bottles 
or  flagons  of  peculiar  shape  were  found  with  the 
initials  *'P.K."  on  them — of  Keeffe,  a  former  pro- 
prietor of  the  wells. 

In  the  same  parish  (of  Lambeth),  on  the  side  of 
the  road  from  Vauxhall  turnpike  to  Wandsworth, 
on  the  right  hand,  was  a  spring  called  Vauxhall  Well. 
The  water  was  esteemed  highly  serviceable  in  many 
disorders  of  the  eyes.  In  the  hardest  winters  it 
never  froze. 

Within  half  a  mile  of  Lambeth  Wells  in  a  north- 
easterly direction  was  a  small  public-house  called  the 
**  Dog  and  Duck,"  which  had  existed  as  early  as  1642. 
It  stood  on  the  outskirts  of  St.  George's  Fields, 
named  after  the  Church  of  St.  George  the  Martyr. 
These  "  Fields,"  marked  by  all  the  floral  beauty  of 
meadows,  and  as   yet  unsullied   by   London   smoke, 

195 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

had,  some  fifty  years  earlier,  attracted  Gerarde,  who 
came  here  to  collect  specimens  for  his  **  Herball." 
''  Of  water- violets,"  he  says,  **  I  have  not  found  such 
plenty  in  any  one  place  as  the  water  ditches  adjoining 
St.  George  his  fielde  neare  London."  An  entry  in 
Evelyn's  Diary  tells  us  how  in  September,  1666, 
many  of  the  unfortunate  victims  of  the  Great  Fire 
retreated  to  these  fields  with  such  of  their  goods  and 
chattels  as  they  were  able  to  save  from  the  flames. 
Considering  that  these  broad  meadow  tracts,  includ- 
ing Lambeth  Marsh,  lying  between  them  and  the 
Thames,  were  formerly  in  winter,  and  indeed  at 
every  high  tide,  almost  covered  with  water,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  ponds  were  abundant.  Near  a  group 
of  these,  and  the  '*  Dog  and  Duck"  grounds,  in  which 
the  sport  of  duck-hunting  was  carried  on,  were 
mineral  springs  of  an  aperient  quality,  known  as 
early  as  1695.  Dr.  John  Fothergill,  an  ^*  eminent 
physician,"  tells  us  that  this  water  had  gained  a  repu- 
tation for  the  cure  of  most  cutaneous  disorders,  and 
was  useful  for  keeping  the  body  cool,  and  preventing 
cancerous  affections.  About  the  year  1731  the  water 
was  advertised  for  sale,  when  the  "  Dog  and  Duck  " 
adopted  the  rather  high-sounding  title  of  **St.  George's 
Spa."  At  this  period  the  water  was  sold  on  the  spot 
for  fourpence  a  gallon.  A  dozen  bottles  could  be 
had  at  the  Spa  {circa  1733-36)  for  one  shilling. 
From  about  1754  till  1770  the  water  was  in  consider- 
able demand,  and  new  buildings,  including  a  Long 
Room  with  tables  and  benches  and  an  organ,  ^  appear 

'  Organs  were  first  introduced  into  taverns  during  the 
Commonwealth  period,  when  their  use  in  Divine  Service  was 
for  the  time  being  abolished. 

196 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

to  have  been  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  visitors, 
among  whom  were  not  wanting  persons  of  good 
social  position.  Dr.  Johnson,  in  a  letter  of  July  lo, 
1 77 1,  advised  Mrs.  Thrale  to  take  the  waters  here. 
From  this  date  to  near  the  end  of  the  century  they 
continued  to  be  advertised  in  the  newspapers.  The 
following  advertisement  appears  in  the  Times  of 
May  26,  1795  :  "  *  Dog  and  Duck'  Spa  and  Bath,  St. 
George's  Fields. — J.  Hedger  respectfully  informs  the 
Public  the  Gardens  of  the  above  Spa  are  open  for 
the  reception  of  those  who  wish  to  drink  the 
waters  on  the  spot,  at  the  usual  terms  of  3d.  each 
person,"  &c.i 

The  following  extract  from  a  MS.  of  1826  by 
Hone,  the  author  of  the  '*  Year  Book,"  is  printed  in 
extenso  by  Larwood  and  Hotten  :  2  *'  It  (the  *  Dog  and 
Duck')  was  a  very  small  public-house  till  Hedger's 
mother  took  it ;  she  had  been  a  barmaid  to  a  tavern- 
keeper  in  London.  Her  son  joined  her,  and  the  house 
— as  a  tavern — seems  to  have  done  a  very  thriving 
business,  for  when  Hedger  left  it  to  his  nephew,  one 
Miles,  the  latter  was  to  make  him  an  allowance  of 
;^i,ooo  a  year  out  of  the  profits  ;  and  it  was  he  who 
allowed  the  house  to  acquire  so  bad  a  character  that 
the  licence  was  taken  away.  I  have  this,"  says 
Hone,  **  from  William  Nelson,  who  was  servant  to 
Mrs.  Hedger,  and  remembers  the  house  before  he 
(Miles)  had  it,"  adding — "  Hedger,  I  am  told,  was  the 
first  person  who  sold  the  water."  In  1787  the  *'  Dog 
and  Duck"  became  the  haunt  of  disreputable  characters, 
the  consequence  being  that  the  magistrates  of  Surrey, 

'  "  Old  Times,"  John  Ashton,  1885. 

^  "  History  of  Signboards"  (1866). 

197 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

when  Hedger  applied  to  have  his  licence  renewed, 
refused ;  the  Lord  Mayor  overruled  this  at  a  court 
he  held  in  Southwark,  and  granted  one  conditionally 
upon  the  place  being  closed  on  Sundays.  After  a 
long  existence,  during  which  it  frequently  figured  in 
connection  with  trials  for  highway  robbery  and  other 
crimes,  it  was  suppressed  by  order  of  the  magistrates. 
The  house  was  pulled  down  in  1811  for  the  building 
of  the  present  Bethlehem  Hospital,  and  the  exact 
site  of  the  well  is  no  longer  known.  The  old  stone 
sign  of  the  inn  is  still  preserved,  embedded  in  the 
brick  wall  of  the  Hospital  garden,  visible  from  the 
road,  and  representing  a  dog  holding  a  duck  in  its 
mouth,  and  in  a  separate  panel  the  arms  of  the 
Bridge  House  Estate  and  the  date  17 16.  The 
position  of  the  tablet  is  close  to  the  actual  site  of  the 
once  notorious  **  Dog  and  Duck." 

Several  views  of  the  exterior  of  the  **  Dog  and 
Duck  "  exist.     Wroth  mentions  the  following  :  ^ — 

The  **  Dog  and  Duck  Tavern  "  copied  from  an  old 
drawing  1646,  water  colour  drawing  by  T.  H.  Shep- 
herd, Grace  Collection,  Cat,  p.  646,  No.  27. 

The  **  Dog  and  Duck'*  in  1772.  A  print  published 
in  that  year.     Crace  Collection,  Cat.,  p.  646,  No.  28. 

Woodcut  of  exterior,  1780,  in  Chambers's  *'  Book  of 
Days,"   ii.    74. 

Interior  of  the  Assembly  Room,  a  stipple  engrav- 
ing, 1789,  reproduced  by  Rendle  and  Norman  in 
'*  Inns  of  Old  Southwark,"  p.  369.  This  shows  the 
company  moving  about  in  the  centre  of  the  room, 
which  is   lighted  by  large  chandeliers ;  the  organ  is 

»  "  London  Pleasure  Gardens  of  the  [Eighteenth  Century," 
p.  277. 

198 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

at  the  far  end,  and  ranged  along  the  walls  on  either 
side  are  tables  for  tea-drinking,  at  which  some  of 
the  guests  are  sitting. 

The  discovery  of  the  coping-stones  of  the  old  Lady- 
Well  was  made  about  1880,  in  digging  to  underpin 
an  arch  of  the  bridge  over  the  Mid  Kent  Railway  at 
Ladywell,  where  there  had  been  a  settlement  of  the 
ground.  The  stones  were  rescued  from  destruction 
by  a  signalman  in  the  Company's  employ,  and  in 
1896  were  re-erected  and  now  form  part  of  a  fountain 
in  the  grounds  of  the  Ladywell  Public  Baths. 

The  bringing  to  light  of  these  stones  led  to  a 
controversy  as  to  which  of  two  springs — one  a 
medicinal  spring — was  the  true  Lady  Well,  and  this 
was  carried  on  in  the  Kentish  Mercury  for  some 
time  during  the  year  1896.^  The  correspondence  is 
summarised  in  a  paper  published  by  the  Home 
Counties  Magazine  (vol.  i.,  1899),  by  Mr.  C.  A. 
Bradford,  who  here  records  probably  all  that  is 
known  on  the  subject.  The  first  mention  of  any 
spring  in  the  parish  of  which,  he  says,  he  can  find 
any  trace,  is  in  Warkworth's  **  Chronicles,"  edited 
by  J.  O.  Halliwell  for  the  Camden  Society  in  1839. 
Speaking  of  the  hot  summer  in  the  13th  year  of 
King  Edward  IV.'s  reign  (1472),  Warkworth^  says  : 
"  Also  in  the  same  year  .  .  .  water  ran  hugely, 
with  such  abundance  that  never  man  saw  it  run  so 

^  See  the  Kentish  Mercury  for  June  12,  1896. 

2  John  Warkworth,  Bachelor  of  Divinity,  the  reputed  author 
of  a  Chronicle  of  Edward  IV/s  time,  was  a  man  of  unknown 
origin.  He  was  appointed  Master  of  the  College  of  Peterhouse, 
Cambridge,  in  1473,  and  remained  its  head  till  his  death  in 
1500.     (Dictionary  of  National  Biography.) 

199 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

much  afore  this  time  .  .  .  also  as  they  saw  this 
water  run  they  knew  well  it  was  a  token  of  dearth 
or  of  pestilence  or  of  (a)  great  battle.  Also  there 
has  run  divers  such  other  waters  that  betoken  the 
likewise ;  one  at  Levesham  (Lewisham)  in  Kent." 
Wark worth  is  quoted  by  Leland  in  his  **  Collec- 
tanea," I  by  Kilburne  in  his  Survey,^  by  Hasted,3 
as  well  as  by  recent  authors.  The  well  is  not  men- 
tioned in  Lewisham  parish  registers  till  towards  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Lysons,  writing  in 
i8ii,4  evidently  refers  to  the  mineral  spring  when 
he  says :  "  Between  Lewisham  and  Brockley  is 
a  well  of  the  same  quality  as  those  at  Tonbridge 
{i.e.y  chalybeate) ;  a  woman  attends  to  serve  the 
water,  which  is  delivered  gratis  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  parish." 

In  Knights  **  Journey  Book  of  England  "  5  (Kent, 
p.  58,  1842),  the  author  confuses  the  Lady  Well  with 
the  mineral  spring  when,  in  describing  the  Ravens- 
bourne,  he  says :  '*  At  Catford  Bridge,  near  Rushey 
Green,  it  receives  into  its  channel  the  small  river 
Chiffinch,  and  after  crossing  Brockley  Lane,  the 
waters  from  the  Lady  Well  also,  which  is  supposed 
to  be  the  Great  Spring  mentioned  by  Kilburne  as 
newly  breaking  out  of  the  earth  in  1472." 

Butt's  *'  Historical  Guide  to  Lewisham,"  published 
in  1878,  is  the  most  explicit  as  to  its  position  in  the 

^  Vol.  iii.  part  2,  p.  508,  written  before  1550. 
'^  ''  A  Topographic  or  Survey  of  the  County  of  Kent,"   by 
Richard  Kilburne,  1659,  p.  168. 

3  "  History  of  Kent,"  1778. 

4  "  Environs  of  London,"  vol.  ii.  p.  572. 

5  "  The  Journey  Book  of  England,"  Chas.  Knight  and  Co., 
1842.     Kensington  Public  Library. 

200 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

following  passage  (page  21):  **  Crossing  the  bridge  and 
exactly  in  front  of  the  Freemason's  Arms  Inn  we 
have  the  site  of  the  Lady  Well.  The  old  well  was 
opposite  Ladywell  House,  and  in  (what  is  now) 
nearly  the  centre  of  the  road  leading  to  the  Railway 
Station  (opened  in  1857)  and  just  by  the  railway 
arch.  It  had  a  railing  of  iron  round  it,  was  6  or  7 
feet  deep,  with  a  small  grating  at  the  bottom,  where 
the  spring  rose,  which  used  to  fill  the  well  and  flow 
over.  This  well  was  filled  up  and  covered  over 
some  years  ago  when  a  sewer  was  made  just  there." 
The  guide-book  then  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  mineral 
well  **  situated  by  the  left  (south)  side  of  the  road  at 
Ladywell  Cottage,  before  the  cemetery  is  reached." 
It  adds  :  "  Mrs.  Beak,  the  present  tenant  of  Lord 
Dartmouth,  informs  me  that  this  well  was  situated  in 
the  garden  above  her  Cottage ;  that  it  was  run  dry 
by  the  making  of  the  same  sewer  ^  which  was  fatal 
to  the  old  Lady  Well,  somewhat  more  than  eleven 
years  ago  (about  1865  or  1866);  that  a  previous 
tenant  named  Stiles  dismantled  it,  and  sold  the 
bottom  stone.  The  well  was  railed  round,  and  the 
spring  reached  by  descending  several  steps.  Her 
husband,  on  taking  the  cottage  about  1868,  found 
everything  in  disorder  and  the  well  destroyed.  The 
water  was  noted  for  its  benefit  to  weak  eyes,  and 
a  lady,  now  residing  at  Norwood,  told  the  present 
tenant  that  she,  when  a  girl,  came  every  day  to 
drink  of  the  water  for  the  benefit  of  her  health." 

Mr.    Bradford  concludes  his   article  by  remarking 
that    **  it   seems   certain   the    name    Ladywell   is   of 

'  Penge    and    Bell    Green    Sewers,      (See  Kentish  Mercury^ 
January  12,  1866.) 

201 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

comparatively  modern  origin,  neither  name  nor  well 
being  marked  on  Rocque's  Survey  (1745),  nor  on 
Hasted's  map  of  the  hundred  of  Blackheath  (1778), 
whilst  the  Ordnance  Survey  Department,  though 
admitting  that  a  well  is  marked  on  the  earliest 
Ordnance  Survey  Map  of  1799,  assert  that  the 
name  of  Lady  well  first  appeared  on  the  MS.  one- 
inch  Ordnance  Survey  Map  of  1841. 

Both  the  place-name — Ladywell — and  the  well 
itself  are  marked  on  Crutchley's  Map  of  London 
and  its  Environs  (1831),  the  well  being  situated  a 
little  to  the  westward  of  the  Ravensbourne,  on  the 
south  side  of  Brockley  Lane,  which  was  afterwards 
crossed  at  this  spot  by  the  railway  bridge. 

The  arguments  as  to  the  identity  of  the  well 
which  gave  its  name  to  the  place  left  the  issue 
undecided,  the  disputants  being  about  equally 
divided. 

The  view  of  the  Lady  Well  which  illustrates  Mr. 
Bradford's  paper  is  put  down  by  him  as  published 
approximately  in  1820.  He  believes  it  to  be  the  only 
copy  extant  of  the  earliest  known  representation  of 
the  well.  It  is  shown  in  the  picture,  which  is  taken 
from  a  lithograph,  as  lying  on  the  right  of  the 
foreground,  its  circular  basin  slightly  raised  above 
the  level  of  the  road.  In  the  background  is  the 
tower  of  St.  Mary's,  the  parish  church  of  Lewisham.^ 
A  view  taken  some  twenty  years  later  is  contained  in 
Knight's  "Journey  Book,"  and  shows  the  well-head 
of  circular  stones  protected  by  an  iron  railing 
supported   on  five  wooden  posts,  one  side  open   to 

^  The  old  parish  church  was  taken  down  in  1774,  and  the 
present  church  erected  on  its  site. 

202 


A.  S.  Foord  fecit. 

THE   OLD   LADY   WELL,    1 84: 
Kensington  Public  Library. 


A.  S.  Foord  fecit. 

FOUNTAIN   AT   LADYWELL   BATHS. 
Containing  tlie  coping-stones  of  the  old  well. 


To  face  p.  203. 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

afford    access    to    the   water.      The    background    is 
filled  up  with  a  fence  and  trees  behind  it. 

The  sketch  of  the  fountain  is  taken  from  a  photo- 
graph belonging  to  Mr.  Watson,  the  superintendent 
of  the  Ladywell  Public  Baths,  and  was  lent  by  him 
to  Mr.  Graham,  chief  librarian  of  the  Lewisham 
Central  Library,  who  kindly  forwarded  it  to  the 
writer,  and  who  was  instrumental  in  procuring 
much  of  the  information  regarding  the  Lady  Well 
history  and  associations  contained  in  the  foregoing 
description. 

The  large  spur  of  London  Clay  known  as  Shooter's 
Hill  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  objects  of  the 
landscape  in  the  south-eastern  district  of  London,  and 
is  in  marked  contrast  with  the  broad  alluvial  flats 
stretching  along  the  valley  of  the  Thames  at  its  base. 
The  hill  rises  up  on  all  sides  to  a  height  of  200  feet 
and  more  above  the  surrounding  country,  sometimes 
with  a  slope  of  10°,  and  reaching,  with  its  capping 
of  gravel,  the  height  of  420  feet  above  the  sea-level. 

Shooter's  Hill  appears  to  have  been  long  famous 
for  its  mineral  wells,  and  there  is  abundance  of  water 
still  to  be  found  just  under  its  surface,  even  on  the 
crown  of  the  hill,  where  a  few  ponds  exist  to  attest 
the  fact.  The  position  of  the  mineral  spring  that 
bears  its  name  is  described  by  most  modern  writers 
as  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  but  in  the  earliest  notice 
of  it,  contained  in  a  hand-bill  or  broadside,  printed 
and  published  by  W.  Godbid  in  1673,^  it  is  stated 
to  be  **  at  the  foot  of  Shooter's  Hill,  on  the  north- 
west side,  near  the  great  road  that  leads  to  Graves- 

'  There  is  a  copy  in  the  British  Museum. 
203 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

end."  *'  The  situation  of  the  spring,  says  Godbid, 
*'  is  pleasant,  healthful  and  commodious,  with  conveni- 
ences of  house-room  at  and  near  the  well,  and  stable- 
room  for  horses."  The  waters  he  characterises  as 
'*  medicinal  for  internal  and  external  griefs  :  the  scent 
nitrous  and  bituminous,  the  taste  brisk  and  partly 
bitterish." 

It  is  recorded  that  John  Guy,  who  in  1675  was 
tenant  of  the  ground  on  which  the  wells  were  sunk, 
claimed  to  have  discovered  their  medicinal  qualities, 
and  called  them  **  The  Purging  Wells."  They  con- 
sisted of  three  holes ;  two  were  steined  with  brick 
by  Guy  at  a  cost  of  forty  shillings,  about  four  years 
after  their  discovery.  The  water  was  procured  in 
a  very  primitive  manner,  being  taken  out  of  one  hole 
by  means  of  a  ladder,  and  by  a  dish  out  of  another, 
which  was  even  with  the  ground.  Charles  Good- 
cheape,  or  Goodcheafe,  of  Plumstead,  Yeoman,  the 
succeeding  tenant,  erected  a  small  house  over  one 
of  the  wells  for  greater  convenience.  The  first 
tenant,  Guy,  died  in  1699.  ^^  ^he  August  of  that 
year  John  Evelyn  tells  us  :  *'  I  drank  the  Shooter's 
Hill  waters,"  and  we  learn  from  the  London  Dis- 
pensatory that  the  mineral  well  of  Shooter's  Hill 
was  resorted  to  for  sulphate  of  magnesia  (or  Epsom 
salts)  in  1700.     Queen  Anne  is  said  to  have  used  it. 

Hughson,  in  his  '*  History  of  London,"  as  recently 
as  1808,  speaks  of  the  spring  on  the  top  of  Shooter's 
Hill,  which,  he  says,  constantly  overflows  the  well, 
and  is  not  frozen  in  the  sharpest  winters.  There 
is  here  either  a  mistake  as  to  the  position  of  the 
spring,  or  the  reference  is  to  a  different  one  from 
that  described  by  Godbid.     Mr.  W.   T.   Vincent,   in 

204 


South  London  Spas  and  Wells 

*^  Records  of  the  Woolwich  District"  (1888-90), 
says  the  mineral  well  **  was  and  is  on  the  eastern 
edge  of  the  waste  ground  behind  the  Royal  Military 
Academy,  and  w^as  to  be  seen  until  about  1870  under 
a  shed  in  the  garden  of  a  cottage  (in  rear  of  the  Eagle 
Tavern)  occupied  by  a  Sapper,  who  had  charge  of 
the  well  on  behalf  of  the  Government,  and  supplied 
the  water  to  visitors  at  a  small  fee.  The  shed  which 
covered  this  well  seems  to  connect  it  with  Charles 
Goodcheape  aforesaid,  but  the  shed  has  now  dis- 
appeared and  the  well  is  seen  in  the  garden  under 
a  flat  stone."  ^ 

Walford  says,  in  '*  Greater  London"  (1884)  :  "  The 
well  is  still  visited  by  invalids  of  the  neighbourhood." 

A  wayside  well  existed,  Mr.  Vincent  says,  in  his 
work  already  quoted,  on  the  south  side  of  Shooter's 
Hill  Road  until  recently,  but  is  now  filled  up  and 
obliterated.  It  occupied  the  south-east  corner  of  the 
Castle  2  approach,  and  was  opposite  **  The  Limes." 
This  was  virtually,  if  not  actually,  on  the  top  of  the 
hill  ;  but  it  was  not  generally  regarded  as  medicinal. 
It  was  a  dipping  well,  into  which  there  was  a  descent 
of  one  or  two  steps.  The  three  wells  owned  by  John 
Guy,  being  of  similar  character,  were  probably  near 
to  each  other.     An  analysis  of  the  water  was  made 


^  The  Ordnance  Survey  Map  (edition  1894-96)  marks  the 
position  of  the  well. 

2  Severndroog  Castle — erected  on  Shooter's  Hill  by  Lady 
James  in  1784  to  commemorate  the  taking  of  a  pirate  strong- 
hold of  that  name  on  the  coast  of  Malabar  by  Sir  WiUiam 
James  in  1755.  The  castle  is  a  triangular  brick  edifice,  with 
turrets  at  the  angles  and  containing  specimens  of  native  armour, 
weapons,  &c.,  captured  at  Severn  Droog. 

205 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

in  1840  by  Mr.  James  Marsh,  chemist,  Royal 
Arsenal,  who  found  that  a  quart  of  it  contained  151 
grains  of  solid  ingredients,  which  comprised  about 
58  per  cent,  of  sulphate  of  magnesia,  so  that  taken 
internally  it  would  act  as  a  mild  aperient. 


206 


CHAPTER   III 

OUTLYING   SPAS  AND  WELLS  OF  SOUTH    LONDON 

Camberwell — Evelyn's  record  of  a  visit — Different  theories 
about  the  origin  of  the  name — Lysons,  Bray,  Salmon, 
and  Allport— Well  at  Dr.  Lettsom's  Villa  at  Grove  Hill 
— Milkw^ell  Manor — Effects  of  an  iron  spring  upon  the 
water  in  the  public  baths  in  the  Old  Kent  Road — 
Dulwich  Wells — Manor  of  Dulwich  presented  to  the 
Priory  of  Bermondsey  by  Henry  L — Bew's  Corner — 
Grove  Tavern — The  sinking  of  a  well  in  the  grounds  by  the 
proprietor  Cox  leads  to  discovery  of  a  purging  water — 
John  Martyn  experimented  on  the  water,  which  was  supplied 
to  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital — Sydenham  Wells — Evelyn 
an  early  visitor  here — Called  also  Dulwich  Wells — John 
Peter,  a  physician,  writes  the  first  detailed  account  of  Syden- 
ham Wells— Wells  Cottage  in  Wells  Road— George  HL's 
visit  to  the  cottage — Thomas  Campbell's  house  at  Syden- 
ham— Beulah  Spa — Beauty  of  its  situation — Not  known 
when  or  how  the  mineral  spring  was  discovered — Described 
by  Dr.  Weatherhead — Analysis  of  the  water  by  Professor 
Faraday — Entertainments  recorded — Mr.  J.  Corbet  Anderson 
on  the  Spa  and  well  open  when  he  wrote — Mineral  spring 
at  Biggin  Hill — Analysis  of  the  water — Streatham  Wells — 
First  account  of  them  by  Aubrey — Circumstances  of  their 
discovery — Well  House,  now  ^'The  Rookery" — Closing  of 
the  old  spring  and  opening  of  another  on  Lime  Common — 
Miss  Priscilla  Wakefield  tastes  the  water — Analysis  of  the 
water  made  by  Messrs.  Redwood  and  de  Hailes  in  1895. 

IN    Camberwell  we  again  have,  as  in  Islington,  a 
name  to  which   different   meanings   have   been 
attached.     The  place  is  mentioned  in  the  Domesday 

207 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Book  as  a  manor  of  some  value,  the  name  being 
written  Ca'brewelle.^  In  subsequent  records  the 
letter  b  was  exchanged  for  m,  and  until  the 
sixteenth  or  seventeenth  century  the  name  appeared 
under  the  guise  of  Cam  well  or  of  Camerwell.  In 
the  seventeenth  century,  as  Blanch  informs  us  in 
his  history  of  the  parish  (1875)  ^^  ^  found  its 
way  back  again  ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  middle 
of  the  eighteenth  century  that  Camberwell,  as  it  is 
now  written,  was  officially  recognised.  Lysons,  in  his 
*'  Environs  of  London,"  writes  :  **  I  can  find  nothing 
satisfactory  with  respect  to  its  etymology  ;  the  termi- 
nation seems  to  point  to  some  remarkable  spring." 
Evelyn  records,  under  date  of  September  i,  1657  : 
*'  I  visited  Sir  Edmund  Bowyer  at  his  melancholic 
seat  at  Camerwell."  Salmon,  the  Surrey  historian, 
writing  in  1736,  says  :  "  It  seems  to  be  named  from 
some  mineral  water  which  was  anciently  in  it ;  '*  and 
Bray  adopts  the  same  idea.  But  it  has  also  been 
conjectured  by  a  writer  of  "  A  Short  Historical  and 
Topographical  Account  of  St.  Giles's  Church  "  (1827), 
the  parish  church  of  Camberwell — that  as  the  name 
of  St.  Giles  conveys  an  idea  of  cripples,  so,  since  the 
prefix  cam  2  means  crooked,  the  well  which  gave  part 
of  the  name  to  the  village  might  therefore  have  been 
famous  for  some  medicinal  virtues,  occasioning  the 
dedication    of    the    church    to   this   patron    saint   of 

'  The  name  in  the  Conqueror's  Survey  occurs  in  this 
sentence :  ''  Ipse  Haimo  ten'  Ca'brewelle."  (Haimo  himself 
holds  Cambrewelle.) 

=  To  cam,  in  the  Manchester  dialect,  is  to  cross  or  contradict 
a  person,  or  to  bend  anything  awry.  (''  Words  and  Places,"  Isaac 
Taylor,  p.  145.) 

208 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

cripples  and  mendicants.  Allport,^  in  his  account 
of  Camberwell  (1841),  says  that  the  spring  which 
gave  its  name  to  Camberwell  rose  in  the  grounds 
of  Dr.  Lettsom's  Villa  at  Grove  Hill,  the  lease  of 
which  he  purchased  in  1799.  Manning  and  Bray, 
in  their  "History  of  Surrey"  (1804-12),  describe 
the  house  as  standing  on  a  considerable  eminence 
rising  gradually  for  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  village  of  Camberwell.  Mr.  Heckethorn, 
in  dealing  with  the  subject  in  "  London  Souvenirs  '* 
(1899),  points  out  that  the  well  "  appears  to  have  been 
of  some  consequence,  for  in  1782,  when  the  property 
on  which  it  was  sunk  changed  hands,  the  owners 
of  the  estate  reserved  to  themselves,  their  heirs  and 
assigns,  in  common  with  the  tenant,  the  free  use 
of  it."  Brayley  and  Walford,  on  the  other  hand, 
in  their  **  History  of  Surrey"  (1848),  treat  the 
statement  as  merely  traditional  that  the  spring  or 
well  which  gave  the  name  to  Camberwell  was  the 
same  that  supplied  the  reservoir  for  Dr.  Lettsom's 
fountain. 

Within  the  last  century  or  so,  says  Walford  ^  three 
ancient  wells  were  discovered  in  a  field  in  the  parish, 
but  they  were  covered  in  again  by  the  owner  of  the 
land.  Among  other  manors  in  these  parts  was  one 
called  Milkwell,  belonging  to  the  Hospital  of  St. 
Thomas,  Southwark :  there  was  also  a  wood  called 
Milkwell  Wood  in  Lambeth,  containing  20  acres. 
These  were  presumably  named  from  some  long- 
forgotten  spring  or  well. 

'  Douglas  AUport,  ^'  Collections,  illustrative  of  the   History, 
Antiquities,  &c.,  of  Camberwell  and  Neighbourhood,'^  1841. 
»  "  Old  and  New  London,"  vol.  vi.  p.  269. 

209  O 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

As  a  proof  of  the  prevalence  of  mineral  springs 
in  the  London  area,  the  recent  discovery  of  one  of 
these  within  the  borough  of  Camberwell  should  be 
mentioned.  An  account  of  this  quite  unexpected 
**  find  "  was  given  in  the  Daily  Telegraph  of  June  5, 
1906.  It  appears  that  the  spring  in  question  was 
tapped  by  the  artesian  well  which  was  sunk  to  a  depth 
of  400  feet  to  supply  the  water  for  the  new  public 
baths  in  the  Old  Kent  Road.  "  The  discovery  came 
about,"  says  the  narrator,  **  in  consequence  of  com- 
plaints made  by  bathers,  and  others  using  the  baths 
that  the  water  was  dirty.  It  was  a  most  unfounded 
charge,  as  investigation  soon  proved.  The  water, 
it  is  true,  quickly  discoloured,  and  after  being  warmed 
or  exposed  to  the  air  it  was  found  to  assume  a  rusty 
tinge."  The  fact  was  soon  established  that  the  water 
contained  not  dirt,  but  iron.  **  The  water,"  declared 
Dr.  Bousfield,  who  analysed  it  *'  is  unusually  rich 
in  iron,  being  comparable  in  this  respect  with  the 
Tunbridge  Wells  water,  and  it  would  appear  almost 
as  if  the  (Borough)  Council  were  in  the  position  to 
set  up  a  spa  in  the  Old  Kent  Road."  A  represen- 
tative of  the  Daily  Telegraph  was  assured  by  Mr. 
C.  W.  Tagg,  the  town  clerk  of  Camberwell,  that 
several  people  who  were  victims  of  rheumatism  and 
had  visited  the  baths  had  testified  to  having 
experienced  undoubted  relief  after  using  them,  the 
Mayor  of  Camberwell  himself  having  found  them 
distinctly  efficacious. 

Dulwich,  says  Miss  Priscilla  Wakefield,  in  her 
**  Perambulations  in  London"  (1809),  "is  pleasantly 
retired,  having   no   high  road   passing  through  it " ; 

210 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

the  nearest,  before  the  nineteenth  century,  lay  two 
or  three  miles  off,  passing  through  Streatham  and 
Croydon,  and  the  road  that  traversed  Dulwich  simply 
led  to  the  still  smaller  village  of  Sydenham. 

This  comparative  seclusion  may  account  for  the 
saying  that  of  all  the  village  entrances  in  the  environs 
of  London,  the  prettiest  is  that  of  Dulwich,  and 
even  down  to  this  day  it  has  lost  but  little  of  its  rural 
character,  not  only  as  regards  the  village  itself,  but 
also  beyond  it,  where  one  can  still  saunter  through 
lanes  bordered  by  hedgerows  and  overhung  by 
branches  of  oak  or  elm  ;  and  if  the  nightingale's 
"long  trills  and  gushing  ecstasies  of  song"  are  no 
longer  heard,  there  is  yet  the  cheery  voice  of  the 
skylark  high  amongst  the  morning  clouds,  and  as 
the  evening  twilight  advances  the  flute-like  notes 
of  the  song-thrush. 

The  ancient  form  of  the  name  Dulwich  appears 
in  many  documents  as  Dilwysshe,  which  is  said  to 
have  been  derived  from  De  la  Wyk  or  de  Dilewisse, 
the  owner  of  lands  in  Camberwell  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  I.  (circa  iioo).  This  monarch  in  1127  pre- 
sented the  manor  with  other  estates  to  the  Priory 
of  Bermondsey,  whose  Abbot  (the  Priory  having 
been  raised  to  the  dignity  of  an  Abbey)  in  1539 
voluntarily  surrendered  it  to  the  Crown.  The  pur- 
chase of  the  manor  about  the  year  1606  by  Edward 
Alleyn,  founder  of  the  famous  "College  of  God's 
Gift,"  is  well  known. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  spots  within  the 
hamlet,  at  least  so  far  as  concerns  the  subject  of  these 
pages,  is  that  formerly  known  as  Bew's  Corner, 
Lordship  Lane,  on  the  verge  of  Dulwich  Common, 

211 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

where  now  Dulwich  Common  Lane  meets  Lordship 
Lane,  and  about  a  mile  south-east  of  Dulwich 
College.  The  site  was  previously  occupied  by  the 
"  Green  Man,"  a  tavern  of  some  note  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Ceasing  to  be  used  as  an  inn,  it 
was  renamed  **  Dulwich  Grove,"  and  became  the 
temporary  residence  of  Lord  Chancellor  Thurlow, 
while  the  house  at  Knight's  Hill  was  being  built 
for  him,  but  which  he  is  said  never  to  have  occupied. 
Subsequently  the  house,  a  substantial  white  stone 
building  of  two  stories,  was  opened  by  Dr.  Glennie 
as  a  school  or  academy,  at  which  Lord  Byron  was  a 
pupil  for  two  years — 1 799-1801.  The  house  was 
known  to  Dr.  Webster — an  authority  on  the  subject 
of  medicinal  waters,  and  an  old  resident  of  the 
hamlet — in  18 15,  and  about  ten  years  after  (1825) 
when  Dr.  Glennie  had  left  and  the  house  had  been 
pulled  down,  he  remembered  seeing  a  well  within 
the  premises,  which  had  been  long  disused,  but  whose 
waters  he  tasted  and  found  to  be  chalybeate.  About 
this  time  a  man  named  Bew,  formerly  employed  at 
the  college,  opened  a  beer-house  here,  making  use 
of  some  of  the  outbuildings  of  the  once  famous 
school,  and  converting  the  grounds  into  a  tea-garden. 
The  Grove  Tavern  was  built  on  the  site  of  the 
old  school- house,  its  successor  being  erected  in  or 
about  the  year  i860,  under  the  name  of  the  Grove 
Hotel,  which  it  retains.  It  was  in  the  grounds  of 
the  old  **  Green  Man"  during  the  autumn  of  1739 
that  Mr.  Francis  Cox,^  the  proprietor,  having  occa- 

'  The  family  of  Cox  was  long  resident  in  the  neighbourhood, 
as  is  shown  by  the  Chapel  Registers.  ("  Norwood  and  Dul- 
wich," Galer,  1890.) 

212 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

sion  to  sink  a  well  for  the  use  of  his  family,  dug 
down  about  60  feet,  and  not  finding  water  filled 
in  the  hole.  In  the  succeeding  Spring  he  reopened 
it  in  the  presence  of  Mn  John  Martyn,  F.R.S.,  a 
Professor  of  Botany  at  Cambridge,  who  found  it 
to  contain  about  25  feet  of  water,  and  having 
made  a  number  of  experiments,  **  was  satisfied  that 
the  new  spring  was  really  a  purging  water  .  .  . 
being  drank  fresh  in  the  quantity  of  five  half-pint 
glasses."  It  had  a  sulphurous  taste  and  smell  which 
went  off  by  degrees  after  the  well  had  been  open 
some  days.  In  a  later  description  of  the  discovery 
and  of  the  merits  of  this  spring,  published  in  1740, 
Professor  Martyn  says  :  **  There  has  not  been  any 
medicinal  spring  observed  in  Dulwich  before."  ^ 

To  such  an  extent  did  the  Londoners  flock  to  the 
new  spring  that  within  a  few  years  the  "  Green  Man  " 
was  superseded  by  the  more  appropriate  name  of 
*' Dulwich  Wells."  In  the  years  1748,  1757,  and 
1762,  advertisements  appeared  announcing:  *' The 
purging  waters  now  in  their  proper  season  for 
drinking.  The  Great  Breakfast- Room  at  the  'Green 
Man'  at  Dulwich,  opened  16  May,  1748,  and  con- 
tinued every  Monday  during  the  summer  season 
at  one  shilling  each  person."  The  waters  were 
supplied  regularly  to  St.  Bartholomews  Hospital, 
besides  being  sold  in  the  streets  of  London. 

After  the  death  of  Francis  Cox,  his  son  William 
sold  his  interest  to  one  James  Rowles,  a  wine 
merchant  in  Westminster.  This  person  in  1774 
disposed    of    the    house    to    Charles    Maxwell,    the 

'  His  account  of  the  waters  was  sent  to  the  Royal  Society 
(Philosophical  Trans.,  xh.,  835). 

213 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

remainder  of  whose  term  expired  in  1780.  His 
application  to  the  then  Master  of  the  College  for  a 
new  lease  led  to  a  lawsuit,  owing  to  the  arbitrary 
terms  in  which  the  lease  was  drawn  up.  The  result 
was  that  the  College  had  to  pay  the  costs  and  give 
a  renewal  of  the  lease  to  Maxwell.  Lord  Thurlow 
heard  the  suit.  Whether  this  litigation  or  the  falling 
off  of  water-drinking  in  London  was  the  cause,  is 
uncertain,  but  the  Dulwich  Wells  certainly  did 
decline  from  this  time.  At  all  events  they  were 
not  in  use  in  18 14,  when  Bray  wrote  the  third 
volume  of  his  *'  History  of  Surrey." 

The  name  of  Cox  is  kept  in  remembrance  by 
*'  Cox's  Walk,"  facing  the  Grove  Hotel — a  broad 
pathway,  shaded  by  an  avenue  of  young  trees,  and 
leading  by  a  rather  steep  ascent  to  Sydenham  Hill. 

The  local  history  of  Sydenham  ^  really  commenced 
with  the  discovery  there  of  the  mineral  springs  about 
the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the 
place  consisted  of  only  a  few  farm-houses  and 
cottages  dotted  about  the  common.  Previous  to 
1854,  in  which  year  the  Crystal  Palace  was  opened, 
Sydenham  was  a  hamlet  and  chapelry  in  the  parish 
of  Lewisham.  For  some  reason,  probably  on  account 
of  their  nearness  to  Dulwich,  as  suggested  by  Lysons, 
the  Sydenham  Wells  were  almost  always  called 
Dulwich   Wells.     Evelyn,  who  seems  to  have  been 

^  Sydenham  appears  as  Cippenham  in  ancient  documents. 
Thus  in  1332,  in  the  "Annals  of  Bermondsey  Abbey,"  we  learn 
that  ''inquiry  was  made  at  Cippenham  for  60  shilHngs,  due 
annually  to  the  Church  at  Bermondsey  from  the  Manor  of 
Cippenham,  viz.,  from  the  land  called  Dillehurst."  ("  Norwood 
and  Dulwich  :  Past  and  Present,"  Allan  M.  Galer,  1890.) 

214 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

one  of  the  earliest  visitors  of  note,  twice  mentions 

them.     Under  date  September  2,   1675,  is  an  entry 

in   his  Diary  :  "  I  went   to   see    Dulwich    Colledge, 

being  the  pious   foundation  of  one  Allen,  a  famous 

Comedian  in  King  James's  time.  .  .  .  'Tis  a  melan- 

cholie   part   of  Camerwell  parish.     I   came  back  (to 

Deptford)   by   certaine   medicinal   spa   waters   called 

Sydnam  Wells,  in  Lewisham  parish,  much  frequented 

in  summer."     Two  years  later,  August  5,   1677,  this 

entry   occurs  :  *'  I   went  to  visit  my   Lord  Brounker, 

now  taking  the  waters  at  Dulwich."     Seeing  that  the 

medicinal  spring  at  Dulwich  was  not  known  till  1739, 

the  reference  here  must  be  to  the  Sydenham  Wells. 

A  still  earlier  allusion  to  them  is  incidentally  made 

by  Culpeper,   in  his  "English  Physician,"  &c.,i  first 

published  in  1653,  in  which  he  says  that  the  juniper 

bush  **  grows  plentifully  hard  by  the  New-found  Wells 

at    Dulwich."     Lewisham    Wells    was    yet    another 

name    applied   to   the    wells    at    Sydenham,    simply 

because  they  were  in  Lewisham  parish. 

Six  years  after  Evelyn's  first  visit  an  interesting 
and  rather  amusing  tract  was  written  and  published 
in  1680  by  John  Peter,  physician.  It  is  a  duodecimo 
of  88  pages,  now  very  scarce,  printed  at  London  "  by 
Thomas  James,  for  Samuel  Tidmarsh,  at  the  Kings 
Head,  in  Corn  Hill."  The  style  is  somewhat 
pompous  and  inflated,  but  his  litde  book  is  of  great 
interest  as  being  the  first  detailed  account  of  Syden- 
ham Wells.  '*  It  is  observable,"  he  writes,  **  that  in 
that  very  place  where  now  the  Wells  are,  there 
used  to  be  only  gushings  of  waters,  where  multitudes 

'  "  The  English  Physician  Enlarged  with  369  Medicines  made 
of  English  Herbs,"  Nicholas  Culpeper,  1653. 

215 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

of  pigeons  used  to  frequent ;  enough  to  give  in- 
telligence to  any  observing  naturalist  that  there 
was  something  wherewith  the  water  was  impregnated 
that  did  invite  and  delight  them,  some  saline 
aluminous  liquor,  of  which  the  fowls  naturally  love 
to  be  tippling."  Dr.  Peter  advises  that  the  water 
should  be  taken  warm,  either  as  a  posset  drink 
made  in  the  usual  way,  or  by  mixing  three  pints 
of  the  water  with  a  quarter  of  a  pint  of  boiling  milk. 
He  was  followed  in  1699  by  Benjamin  Allen,  bachelor 
of  medicine,  who  wrote  *'  The  Natural  History  of  the 
Mineral  Waters  of  Great  Britain,"  an  octavo  volume 
which  reached  a  second  edition  in  171 1.  In  this 
he  describes  the  *' Dulwich  Water"  as  **a  water 
medicated  with  a  salt  of  the  nature  of  common  salt, 
but  with  a  nitrous  quality  and  a  little  more  marcasitical " 
(i.e.y  having  the  properties  of  iron  pyrites). 

"  The  wells,"  he  goes  on  to  say,  "  are  at  the  foot  of 
a  heavy  claiy  Hill,  about  twelve  in  number,  standing 
together,  discovered  about  1640.  They  are  about 
nine  feet  deep,  as  I  gess'd  at  view,  in  which  the  water 
stood  about  half  a  yard.  The  Petrifd  Incrusted 
Stones,  when  broke,  glitter  with  Ferreous  Parts,  as 
Sulphurous  marcasiteS'  produce  ;  which  I  proved  and 
found  to  be  only  parts  of  iron.  .  .  .  The  water  taken 
the  same  day  with  Richmond  in  the  quantity  of  nine 
ounces  and  a  quarter,  was  28  grains  heavier 
than  common  water  and  12  than  Richmond. 
The  nature  of  the  salt  of  this  water,  which  it  takes 
from  the  peculiarity  of  the  earth  which  generates  it, 
is  that  of  common  salt :  in  that  it  turn'd  with  gall, 
first  yellow  and  clear,  then  thick  and  muddy,  white 
not  free  of  yellowness,  in  making  no  alteration  in  a 

216 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

solution  of  sublimat  and  in  making  an  effervescence 
with  a  spirit  of  niter,  but  none  with  spirit  of  salt." 

The  first  recorded  patient  who  actually  experienced 
the  benefit  of  the  Sydenham  waters  was  a  poor 
woman  who,  in  1640  or  1648 — so  the  story  goes — 
suffering  from  a  terrible  disease,  was  directed  by  a 
physician  to  whom  she  had  applied  for  advice,  to  try 
their  effect.  This  she  did,  and  being  soon  cured, 
the  springs  thus  became  famous.  Besides  being 
partaken  of  by  visitors  on  the  spot,  the  waters  were 
hawked  about  the  streets  of  London  before  1678, 
as  is  proved  by  a  pamphlet  of  that  date  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum,  describing  how  a  man  who 
used  to  cry  "Dullidg"  water  in  London  killed  his  own 
son.  The  boy  had  been  absent  on  an  errand  rather 
longer  than  was  necessary,  for  which  his  father  beat 
him  so  severely  that  he  died  an  hour  or  so  after- 
wards. 

**  Any  fresh  and  fair  spring  water  here ! "  was 
formerly  the  familiar  London  cry  of  those  who  made 
it  their  business  to  convey  it  to  Town  for  the  con- 
venience of  persons  who  could  not  fetch  it  for  them- 
selves, nor  afford  to  buy  it  at  the  shops  where  it  was 
on  sale. 

Till  1802  Sydenham  remained  a  mere  sprinkling  of 
houses  upon  a  common,  with  some  old  houses  on 
the  hill  above  it — then  called  Pig  Hill.  Many  of  the 
poorer  patients  to  the  wells,  it  would  appear,  says 
Mr.  William  Young  in  his  **  History  of  Dulwich 
College  "  (1889)  dwelt  on  Sydenham  Common  in  huts 
or  structures  of  a  temporary  nature. 

The  story  of  the  little  house  in  the  Wells  Road, 
where,  in  days  gone  by,   the  Sydenham  waters  were 

217 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

served,  Is  interesting  as  having  been  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  same  family  for  more  than  a  century  and 
three-quarters.  In  the  early  days  of  George  the 
Second's  reign  the  cottage  was  purchased  by  one 
Alexander  Roberts.  How  long  he  lived  in  it  is  not 
known,  but  his  daughter  (born  in  1737)  continued 
to  do  so  after  her  marriage  with  John  Fairman,  who 
thus  became  proprietor  of  the  '*  Green  Dragon,"  the 
sign  adopted  for  the  house.  Their  daughter  Elizabeth 
married  William  Evance,i  whose  daughter  Mary  was 
the  mother  of  Mr.  J.  T.  Coling,  the  present  owner 
and  occupier  of  the  house  which,  though  slightly 
modernised,  is  substantially  the  same  building.  The 
well,  which  was  close  to  the  house  on  the  west  side, 
was  filled  up  by  Mr.  Coling  some  fifteen  years  ago. 
The  second  well — there  used  to  be  two  in  the 
grounds — was  covered  by  the  roadway  (Wells  Road) 
made  about  seventy-five  years  ago. 

Dr.  Webster,  whose  name  has  been  mentioned 
in  connection  with  Dulwich  Wells,  writes  of  '*  the 
little  old  cottage  where  the  Sydenham  Wells  are," 
and  of  two  elderly  women  of  the  name  of  Evans, 
who,  on  his  expressing  surprise  that  they  had  not 
been  bought  out  for  building,  replied  that  they 
kept  possession  as  the  little  property  would  be  bene- 
ficial to  their  deceased  brother's  children.  He  adds  : 
**  It  (the  well)  is  not  at  all  resorted  to  now  for 
medicinal  purposes  ;  but  the  water  is  strongly  saline, 
similar  to  that  at  the  quondam  *  Beulah  Spa,'  at 
Streatham  Common,  and  at   Epsom." 

Some   maintain   that   the  principal   spring    of  the 

'  This  seems  to  be  merely  a  variation  of  the  usual  spelling  of 
Evans. 

218 


The  Dwelling;  of  Alexander  Rolaerts  at 
SYDENHAM   WELLS 

From  an  old  print  in  possession  of  ]Mr.  J.  T.  Coling. 


WELLS  COTTAGE,   SYDENHAM. 

From  a  photograph  taken  in  1903.     The  well  was  behind  the  palings  on  the  left  of  the 

picture. 


To  face  p.  218^ 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

group  on  Westwood  Common,  as  it  was  formerly 
called,  lies  under  the  font  in  the  Church  of  St.  Philip 
(built  1865-66).  Mr.  Coling,  however,  avers  that 
the  site  of  a  more  important  spring  is  covered  by  one 
of  a  row  of  small  houses  facing  his  own  in  Wells 
Road. 

A  Sydenham  Directory  for  1859,^  reprinted  from 
Chambers's  Edinburgh  Journal,  contains  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  spot  from  the  sympathetic  pen  of  a  local 
authoress,  in  which  the  dragon  is  supposed  thus  to 
soliloquise  :  "  It  was  in  the  year  1760  I  received  the 
last  touch  of  the  artist  and  was  declared  worthy  of 
being  exalted  to  the  top  of  a  pole  to  point  out  to 
passers-by  the  original  old  well  of  the  Sydenham 
waters.  These  had  a  great  reputation — they  were 
a  strong  tonic — and  I  have  seen  them  bring  back  the 
bloom  of  youth  to  many  a  fading  cheek.  Many,  it  is 
true,  came  here,  who  were  sick  of  nothing  but  an  idle 
life.  Age  came  to  drink  itself  young,  dissipation  to 
drown  weariness,]  and  imagination  to  be  cured  of 
never-ending  diseases ;  but  even  these  returned  re- 
freshed by  the  early  walk,  the  country  breeze,  and 
the  matins  of  the  birds."  Our  dragon  then  relates 
how  that  the  Sydenham  Wells  were  on  a  memorable 
occasion  honoured  by  the  presence  of  King  George 
III.,  who  spent  the  greater  part  of  a  day  in  the 
cottage  (then  occupied  by  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Evance), 
surrounded  by  His  Majesty's  escort  of  Life  Guards), 
who  prevented  any  curious  eyes  from  looking  in. 
This  royal  visit  was  no  mere  tradition,  as  some 
writers  would  have  it,  but  an  undoubted  fact.  Mr. 
Coling  still   possesses   the  table   at   which  the  King 

2  Clark's  Sydenham  and  Forest  Hill  Directory  for  1859. 

219 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

sat,  and  down  to  a  recent  date  the  chair  he  used,  but 
this,  having  almost  perished  through  age,  had  to  be 
broken  up. 

The  Wells  House  continued  to  attract  as  a  place 
of  quiet  entertainment,  and  was  afterwards  for  some 
time  the  headquarters  of  the  St.  George's  Bowmen, 
a  Society  of  Archers  established  in  1789,  till  the 
enclosure  of  the  greater  part  of  Sydenham  Common, 
about   1802,  put  an  end  to  their  practice. 

One  of  the  few  eminent  residents  in  Sydenham 
was  the  poet  Campbell,  who  went  there  in  1804 
and  remained  till  1820.  His  house  is  described  by 
Thorne  in  his  "  Handbook  of  the  Environs  of 
London"  (1876)  as  on  Peak  Hill,  the  third  on  the 
right  before  reaching  Sydenham  Station  of  a  row 
of  tall  red-brick  buildings  near  Peak  Hill  Road, 
distinguished  from  the  others  by  green  jalousies  at 
the  windows.  It  was  still  standing  in  1885, 
numbered  13,  Peak  Hill  Avenue,  and  unaltered 
since  the  poets  occupancy  of  it,  except  that  the 
gardens  about  it  had  been  covered  with  modern 
villas  and  that  its  rural  character  had  disappeared. 
The  whole  of  '*  Gertrude  of  Wyoming  "  was  written 
here.^ 

Before  concluding  this  sketch  of  Sydenham  Wells, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  Directory  already 
quoted  contains  the  name  of  *'  Elizabeth  Evance, 
Laundress,  of  Sydenham  Wells,  Wells  Road,"  which 
would  seem  to  imply  that  they  were  still  open  for 
public  use  in  1859.  The  name  of  this  worthy  lady 
is  enshrined  in  some  not  very  poetical  verses  forming 
a  pendant  to  an  undated  view  of  the  grounds  and 

*  *'  Literary  Landmarks  of  London,"  L.  Hutton,  1892. 

220 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

buildings,  but,  to  judge  from  the  costumes,  appearing 
to  be  Early  Victorian : — 

"  And  there  you  will  find  a  wild  rural  retreat, 

From  time  immemorial  called  Sydenham  Wells, 
With  old  Betty  Evans,  complacent  and  neat, 
And  a  Gipsy,  if  wish'd,  who  your  fortune  foretells." 

Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Alexander  Roberts  and 
grandmother  of  "  Betty "  Evans,  was  buried  at 
Lewisham  June  20,  1791.  A  note  in  the  register 
of  the  parish  church  shows  that  she  must  have 
been  a  woman  of  extraordinary  height  and  size  ;  it 
states  :  "  She  was  brought  from  Sydenham  Wells ; 
her  coffin  was  six  feet  ten  inches  long,  three  feet 
five  inches  wide,  and  two  feet  six  inches  deep." 

Northward  of  Croydon  the  hill-forming  tendency  of 
the  London  Clay  is  shown  by  the  well-marked  range 
of  Norwood,  Sydenham,  and  Forest  Hills,  rising 
with  a  long  slope  from  the  ground  on  the  east  to 
a  height — at  Beulah  Hill — of  about  320  feet  above 
sea-level.  From  numerous  names  suggestive  of 
wood  or  forest  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Norwood, 
Dulwich,  Sydenham,  and  Penge,  it  is  evident  that 
in  former  times  a  large  proportion  of  the  land  here- 
abouts was  sylvan.  Maps  of  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  later,  show  considerable 
areas  still  uncleared,  among  them  being  the  great 
North  Wood,  lying  to  the  north  of  the  large  ecclesias- 
tical town  of  Croydon. 

The  mineral  spring  at  Upper  Norwood,  afterwards 
known  as  Beulah  Spa,  we  are  rather  vaguely  told, 
had  been  "long  resorted  to  by  the  country  folk  of 
the   neighbourhood,"  but   it  does  not   appear  to   be 

221 


springs.   Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

known  when  or  how  it  was  first  discovered.  There 
is  also  some  doubt  as  to  how  the  name  originated. 
On  Rocque's  Map  of  London  and  its  Environs  (1746) 
Bewly  Wood  and  Bewly's  Farm  are  marked,  and 
in  a  plan  of  Norwood  (1808)  Beulah  Hill  appears 
as  Beaulieu  Hill.  The  Spa  probably  acquired  the 
name  of  "  Beulah  "  to  express  the  uncommon  beauty 
and  salubrity  of  the  situation — qualities  which  it 
certainly  possessed  in  no  small  degree,  so  that  very 
little  art  was  needed  to  convert  the  place  into  an 
ideal  garden,  with  its  undulating  lawns  and  sylvan 
spaces,  and  a  lake  in  the  lower  grounds  to  enhance 
the  effect.  A  brochure  by  Dr.  George  Hume 
Weatherhead,  published  in  The  Mirror  of  April 
14,  1832,  describes  the  spot  as  lying  "embosomed  in 
a  wood  of  oaks,  open  to  the  south-west,  whose  dense 
foliage  shelters  and  protects  it,  and  is  now  the  sole 
vestige  of  the  former  haunts  of  the  gypsies." 

It  was  Mr.  John  Davidson  Smith  who  first  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  laying  out  this  portion  of  his 
manor  of  Whitehorse  for  the  purpose  of  rendering 
available  the  medicinal  properties  of  the  spring, 
which,  like  Dulwich,  Sydenham,  and  Streatham,  was 
strongly  impregnated  with  sulphate  of  magnesia.  The 
conversion  of  the  ground — some  25  to  30  acres  in 
extent — into  a  place  of  recreation  was  begun  about 
the  year  1828.  Its  position  was  between  Leather 
Bottle  Lane  (now  Spa  Hill)  and  Grange  Wood. 
Through  this  estate  carriage-drives  and  winding 
footpaths  were  cut ;  and  from  thence  extensive 
views  were  obtained.  The  buildings  in  connection 
with  the  Spa  included  a  very  ornate  lodge  at  the 
entrance  to  the  grounds,  an  orchestra,  an   octagon- 

222 


lO 

oo 

2 

<: 

&H 

en 

\ 

X 
< 
u 

m 

.{py-^ 

.>*-' 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

shaped  reading-room,  with  arcades  on  either  side 
in  which  refreshments  were  served,  and  the  Spa 
Well  under  *'  a  thatched  hut  built  in  the  form  of  an 
Indian  Wigwam  "  ;  the  whole  being  carried  out  from 
the  designs  of  Mr.  Decimus  Burton,  the  architect. 
One  of  the  seats  in  the  gardens  was  the  favourite 
resting-place  of  the  late  (1834)  Countess  of  Essex, 
and  from  her  afterwards  called  Lady  Essex's  seat. 

Referring  to  the  spring  itself,  Dr.  Weatherhead 
writes  :  "  It  rises  about  fourteen  feet  within  a  circular 
rock-work  enclosure  ;  the  water  is  drawn  by  a  con- 
trivance at  once  ingenious  and  novel ;  an  urn-shaped 
vessel  of  glass,  terminating  with  a  cock  of  the  same 
material,  and  having  a  stout  rim  and  cross  handle 
of  silver,  is  attached  to  a  thick  worsted  rope  and 
let  down  into  the  spring  by  a  pulley,  when  the 
vessel  being  taken  up  full,  the  water  is  drawn  off 
by  the  cock.''  An  analysis  was  made  by  Professor 
Michael  Faraday,  who  pronounced  it  to  be  princi- 
pally distinguished  for  the  quantity  of  magnesia 
contained  in  it,  resembling,  but  far  surpassing,  in 
this  respect,  the   Cheltenham  waters. 

A  pint  of  the  water  yielded  solid  ingredients  in  the 
following  proportions : — 


Grains. 

Sulphate  of  Magnesia 

61-35 

Chloride  of  Sodium 

1774 

Muriate  of  Magnesia 

9-28 

Carbonate  of  Lime 

7-80 

„         of  Soda 

1-90 

98-07 

It  was,  in  fact,  one  of  the  purest  and  strongest  of  the 
saline  spas  in  the  country. 

223 


Springs,   Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

From  guide-books  to  the  Spa,  of  which  three  are 
preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  namely,  for  the 
years  1832,  1834,  and  1838,  we  learn  that  the  price 
of  admission  was  on  ordinary  days  is.  and  on  fete 
days  2S.  6d. ;  the  yearly  subscription  for  a  family 
was  three  guineas,  and  for  one  person  a  guinea  and 
a  half.  Visitors  could  either  drink  the  water  on  the 
premises  or  have  it  brought  to  their  lodgings  ;  the 
water  was  also  delivered  in  London  at  two  shillings 
per  gallon. 

Conveyance  from  and  to  Town  was  effected  by  a 
service  of  stage-coaches  starting  from  the  "  Silver 
Cross"  at  Charing  Cross,  and  running  several  times 
a  day  between  that  and  the  Spa.  Fares:  outside, 
IS.  3d. ;  inside,   2s.  6d. 

For  the  entertainment  of  the  visitors  during  the 
season,  a  military  band  played  every  day  from  eleven 
till  dusk,  while  for  those  who  had  a  fancy  to  trip  it 
on  the  light  fantastic  toe,  there  were  lawns  laid  out 
for  the  purpose.  There  were  also  a  camera  obscura, 
a  rosary,  an  archery  ground,  and  for  the  more 
aesthetically  inclined  there  was  always  the  view  from 
the  upper  terrace  of  the  beautiful  range  of  the  Surrey 
hills  lying  on  the  horizon.  On  festive  occasions,  such 
as  fite  days,  special  amusements  were  provided  of 
a  kind  to  suit  the  tastes  of  the  company  expected. 
The  various  charitable  institutions  were  also  invited 
by  the  proprietors  to  hold  their  fHes  here  in  aid 
of  their  funds.  Some  of  these  were  evidently  highly 
successful,  for  on  the  occasion  of  a  file  champitre  held 
at  the  Spa  in  the  month  of  July,  1834,  about  3,000 
persons  were  present.  But,  after  all,  these  open-air 
functions  were  very  dependent  for  their  success  upon 

224 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

the  state  of  the  weather,  for  we  read  that  when, 
in  July,  1838,  a  fHe  was  organised  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Polish  refugees,  it  was  so  impropitious  that 
the  Committee  who  guaranteed  it  lost  upwards  of 
;^300,  the  attendance  falling  woefully  short  of  ex- 
pectations ;  the  poor  Poles  suffering  accordingly. 

A  Mr.  James  Fielding  appears  to  have  been  the 
first  manager  or  lessee  when,  in  August,  183 1, 
Beulah  Spa  was  first  opened  to  the  public.  News- 
papers of  the  day  mention  how  rapidly  it  grew  in 
popularity,  and  became  a  fashionable  rendezvous  with 
the  beau  monde,  many  personages  of  rank  and  distinc- 
tion visiting  it.  In  the  season  of  1833  Mrs.  Fitz- 
herbert  and  the  Earl  and  Countess  of  Munster  were 
among  the  visitors.  The  following  year  the  Duke 
of  Gloucester  visited  the  Spa  to  drink  the  waters. 

The  season  of  1835  commenced  under  the  auspices 
of  a  new  proprietor.  A  Mr.  Newman  had,  it  appears, 
already  made  many  improvements,  and  had  more  in 
preparation  on  an  extended  basis.  Great  attention 
was  paid  to  the  flower-beds,  and  an  immense  tent 
was  erected  for  the  accommodation  of  the  band. 
The  price  of  admission  was,  at  this  time,  lowered 
to  IS.  On  June  5th  of  this  year  (1835)  the  White- 
horse  Estate,  including  the  Spa  and  other  properties, 
were  put  up  to  auction.  The  particulars  of  sale 
comprise  the  **  Ornamental  Grounds,  Pump  Room, 
Music  Room,  Gothic  and  other  buildings  attached 
to  the  Spa."  The  purchaser — Mr.  Atkinson — was 
a  man  of  property  under  whose  tasteful  direction  the 
grounds  were  thoroughly  renovated,  the  Spa  being 
conducted  upon  the  principle  of  a  subscription, 
which  seems  to  have  been   freely  taken   up   by   the 

225  p 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

neighbouring  gentry,  as  well  as  by  members  of  the 
upper  classes  in  London.  Vocal  and  instrumental 
concerts  were  a  prominent  feature  of  the  entertain- 
ments. In  1839  a  fHe  for  the  Freemasons'  Girls' 
School  was  given  here,  under  the  special  patronage 
of  the  Queen  Dowager.  The  concert  provided  for 
the  occasion  was  of  a  first-rate  order  ;  Grisi,  Persiani, 
Rubini,  Ivanhoff,  and  other  operatic  celebrities 
lending  their  assistance. 

The  attractions  of  the  Spa  were  kept  constantly 
before  the  public,  through  the  newspapers,  and  for 
some  few  years — for  its  career  was  comparatively 
short — all  went  well.  In  1844  the  death  took  place 
of  Mr.  J.  D.  Smith,  the  original  proprietor,  and 
whether  this  occurrence  reacted  upon  the  place 
detrimentally,  or  not,  the  place  is  described  in  the 
Times  of  June  4,  185 1,  as  having  ''  of  late  years  fallen 
into  a  languid  and  deserted  condition."  About  this 
time  the  widow  of  the  original  proprietor  recovered 
possession  of  the  grounds  and  contrived  by  spirited 
management  to  revive  some  of  the  "  ancient  glories  " 
of  the  place.  The  gardens  were  again  thrown  open 
for  the  season  and  on  August  31,  1852,^  a  FHe 
Villageoise  was  held,  showing  them  to  be  once  more 
in  full  operation.  They  were  still  open  in  1854,  but 
in  the  "  Pictorial  Handbook  of  London  "  for  that  year 
the  buildings  around  the  lawn  are  described  as  being 
"all  now  more  or  less  decayed  and  neglected." 
Wroth  ("  Cremorne  and  the  later  London  Gardens," 
1907),    places   their   close   in  about   the   same   year. 

'  An  admission  ticket  for  the  season  1852,  signed  "T.  H. 
Evans,  Director  of  the  F^/^s,"  is  preserved  in  the  Rendle 
"  London  Wells  "  Collection  at  the  Guildhall  Library. 

226 


BEULAH   SPA. 
From  a  photograph  taken  in  1903.     The  well,  boarded  over,  is  seen  in  the  foreground. 


STREATHAM   (NEW)  WELLS   HOUSE   (ABOUT    I902). 
Now  used  as  a  dairy  farm.    (See  page  237.) 


To  face  p.  226. 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

The  late  Mr.  C.  H.  Spurgeon's  residence,  *'  West- 
wood,"  Beulah  Hill,  occupied  part  of  the   property. 

More  recently  the  Beulah  Spa  is  noticed  in  a  book 
by  Mr.  J.  Corbet  Anderson,  entitled  "The  Great 
North  Wood."  Writing  in  1898  he  says:  "The  charm- 
ing grounds  of  Beulah  Spa  remain  comparatively 
intact.  The  old  paths  still  wind  through  the  shrub- 
beries and  woods ;  the  octagonal-shaped  rustic 
orchestra,  overgrown  with  ivy,  still  stands  not  far 
from  the  once  famous  well.  The  well  itself,  as  yet 
uninjured,  is  about  12  feet  deep,  and  full  of  water." 
The  writer  of  the  present  article  visited  the  place  in 
the  summer  of  1903,  and  found  it  in  much  the  same 
state  as  described  by  Mr.  Anderson.  The  house  and 
grounds,  reduced  to  about  6J  acres,  and  called  "  The 
Lawns,"  were  put  up  for  sale  on  July  30,  1903,  by 
order  of  trustees,  but  the  hammer  fell  to  a  bid  from 
the  auctioneer  of  ;^7,ooo,  and  the  property  was 
withdrawn.^ 

There  was  an  advertisement  in  the  AthencBum  of 
December  13,  1862,  of  a  hydropathic  establishment 
near  by.  This  was  succeeded  by  the  Beulah  Spa 
Hydro'  and  Hotel,  the  proprietor  of  which,  Mr. 
Cephas  Barker,  recently  informed  the  writer  that 
there  were  several  disused  springs  in  their  garden 
and  one  in  that  of  the  next  house,  at  that  time  (1903) 
occupied  by  Mrs.  Spurgeon. 

Several  views  of  Beulah  Spa  were  published  in  the 
newspapers  and  periodicals  of  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago, 
and  it  was  the  subject  of  a  song,  of  the  sentimental 

»  In  July,  1904,  the  house,  with  its  20  acres  of  grounds,  &c., 
was  again  offered  for  sale,  but  the  investment  was  withdrawn  at 
;^I3,200.     {Daily  Telegraph,  July  ^,  igo^.) 

227 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

kind  then  in  vogue,  entitled  "  I  met  her  at  the  Beulah 
Spa,"  the  cover  of  which  gives  a  picture  of  the  grounds 
and  buildings. 

There  used  to  be  another  mineral  well  about  half  a 
mile  to  the  north-west  of  Beulah  Spa,  at  Biggisi  Hill, 
the  water  from  which  gushed  up  at  the  rate  of  seven 
gallons  a  minute.  In  1898  it  was  closed.  The  sub- 
joined analysis  of  water  from  a  well,  which  is  at  White 
Lodge,  Biggin  Hill,  formerly  the  residence  of  Mr.  H. 
Wilson  Holman,  was  kindly  supplied  by  him  to  the 
writer  in  1907.  This  well,  he  says,  **  undoubtedly 
taps  the  same  spring  that  used  to  come  out  at  the 
bottom  of  Biggin  Hill,  and  which  was  blocked  by 
the  sanitary  authorities  in  1898.  The  site  of  the 
spring  was  beyond  the  small  tenement  houses  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hill,  and  there  is  still  some  masonry  in 
existence — the  end  of  the  culvert  where  the  water 
used  to  run  out  into  a  pond.  The  reason  of  its 
being  blocked  was  that  it  is  alleged  to  have  poisoned 
some  domestic  animal." 

Report  on  Sample  of  Well  Water  taken  from  Pump  in 
Back  Court- yard  at  White  Lodge,  Biggin  Hill, 
Beulah   Hill,  S.E. 


Ammonia  Free    ...     '033  1      Parts  per  100,000.     Traces 
Albuminoid          ...     '025  )             of  animal  matter. 

Dissolved  Solids,  Inorganic 

ff            tj       Organic,  &c.,.. 

321-48 
19-94 

Grains 

per  gallon. 

341-42 

Chlorine 

Nitric  Acid  (NO3)          

Sulphuric  Acid  (SO3)     

Alkalies    (Sodium     and     trace 

23-10 

0-20 

140-25 

M 

n           V 

V              ft 

potassium)      

228 

50-12 

J) 

)}          i> 

Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 


Magnesia  (MgO) 

9*59 

Grains 

per  gallon 

Lime  (CaO)         

..      97-40 

i»           n 

Sodium  Chloride 

..      38-11 

M           i) 

„         Nitrate 

0-30 

V              )1 

„         Sulphate 

••       14*33 

1)           )) 

Magnesium  Sulphate     ... 

..      28-77 

)i          iy 

Calcium            „ 

..     192-10 

))           n 

„              Carbonate  ... 

...      32-57 

))           » 

Remarks. 

Faintly  yellow  and  turbid  ;  containing  a  trace  of  iron,  but  no 
poisonous  metals ;  the  microscopical  residue  consists  of  vegetable 
debris.  The  character  of  this  water  is  rather  remarkable,  con- 
taining a  larger  quantity  of  mineral  matter  than  is  often  found 
in  mineral  springs.  The  mineral  matter  would  make  it  a 
permanent  hard  water,  only  a  little  being  destroyed  by  boiling. 

Organically  this  water  is  very  impure,  and  this,  in  conjunction 
with  the  large  amount  of  mineral  matter  it  contains,  renders  it 
absolutely  unfit  for  domestic  purposes. 

(Signed)  F.  B.  Burls,  A.I.C. 

July  7,  1894. 

It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that  the  mineral 
springs  in  Streatham  have  continued  to  supply  their 
waters  uninterruptedly  for  nearly  two  and  a  half 
centuries,  while  most  others  in  and  near  London 
have  either  been  drained  away  into  the  sewers  or 
the  wells  formed  from  them  filled  up.  The  first 
account  of  the  Streatham  Wells  is  given  by  Aubrey, 
the  well-known  topographer  and  antiquary,  in  his 
**  Natural  History  and  Antiquities  of  Surrey," 
begun  in  the  year  1673.  About  fourteen  years 
before  he  wrote — namely,  in  1659 — there  was  a 
field  under  cultivation  on  the  south  side  of  the  top 
of  Streatham  Common,  belonging  to  the  Vauxhall 
Manor,  in  the  grounds  just  below  Wellfield  House. 
Referring  to  the  soil,  Aubrey  says :  "  It  is  a  cold, 
weeping,  and  rushy  clay  ground ;  in  hot  weather 
shoots  a  kind  of  salt  or  allum  on  the  clay,  as  in  the 

229 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

lower  grounds  in  North  Wilts ;  turns  milk  for  a 
posset ;  five  or  six  cups  is  the  most  they  drink,  but 
the  common  dose  is  but  three,  which  are  held 
equivalent  to  nine  at  Epsom."  Dr.  Monro  prescribes 
three  pints  or  more  for  the  dose  (**  Mineral  Waters," 
1770,  vol.  i.  p.  135).  The  circumstances  of  the 
discovery  were  these  : — 

In  the  early  Spring  of  1660^  the  land  was  being 
ploughed,  and  the  horses,  floundering  in  a  quagmire, 
suggested  the  existence  of  an  underground  spring. 
*'  Afterwards  at  weeding  time,"  to  use  Aubrey's  words, 
**  the  weeders  being  very  dry,  drinking  of  it,  it 
purged  them ;  by  which  accident  its  medicinal  virtue 
was  first  discovered."  The  owner  of  the  ground  at 
first  restricted  the  use  of  these  waters,  but  before 
the  end  of  Charles  II.'s  reign  they  had  come  to 
be  generally  used.  Three  wells  were  formed  and 
they  possessed  contrary  properties  :  one  acted  as  an 
emetic,  and  another  was  valued  as  a  specific  in  the 
removal  of  intestinal  worms. 

Among  the  physicians  of  the  eighteenth  century  who 
describe  Streatham  waters  is  Dr.  John  Rutty,  in  his 
elaborate  **  Treatise  on  the  Medicinal  Waters  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland"  (1757),  in  which  he  describes 
them  as  **  a  weak  solution  of  a  salt,  partly  like  sea- 
salt  and  partly  nitrous,  with  a  little  sulphur,  and  a 
greater  proportion  of  absorbent  earth  than  Acton 
water  and  some  others."  According  to  this  writer 
the  Streatham  waters  yielded  200  grains  of  mineral 

*  1659  being  the  year  of  discovery,  there  is  here  an  apparent 
discrepancy  ;  it  may  be  explained  by  reminding  the  reader  that 
previous  to  1752  the  year  was  held  to  begin  on  the  25th  of 
March. 

230 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

matter  per  gallon.  He  then  proceeds  to  say : 
**  Having  occasion  to  go  to  the  wells  a  twelvemonth 
ago,  I  found  them  situated  on  the  declivity  of  a 
pleasant  hill,  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the 
house  on  Streatham  Green  (i.e.,  Streatham  Common); 
I  saw  but  two,  the  third  had  been  filled  up  some 
time.  The  wells  were  distant  from  each  other  about 
fifteen  yards,  both  are  arched,  secure  from  rains.'* 
A  pump  was  also  fixed  over  the  wells  to  prevent  the 
decomposition  of  the  water. 

Mr.  Frederick  Arnold,  in  his  "  History  of 
Streatham"  (1886),  devotes  a  chapter  to  the  subject 
of  these  springs,  which  contains  probably  all  the  infor- 
mation now  procurable  regarding  them.  Towards  the 
end  of  the  seventeenth  century  they  had  attained  some 
renown.  A  house  was  enlarged  or  rebuilt  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  numerous  visitors,  identical 
with  the  one  now  called  *' The  Rookery,"  which  is 
the  last  house  at  the  top  of  the  Common,  but  which 
at  that  time  was  called  **  Well  House."  The  early 
years  of  the  wells  seem  to  have  been  somewhat 
chequered  by  their  changing  hands  rather  frequently, 
and  the  characters  of  their  owners  being  alternately 
pushing  and  apathetic.  By  the  commencement  of 
the  eighteenth  century  the  reputation  of  Streatham 
Spa,  under  the  regime  of  an  energetic  proprietor, 
may  be  said  to  have  stood  at  its  highest.  The 
Common,  with  its  broad  lawn  of  smooth,  bright  turf 
sloping  upwards,  was  then  a  fashionable  promenade. 
Every  Monday  and  Thursday  during  the  summer 
of  1 70 1,  there  was  a  concert  at  the  wells,  and 
Streatham  was  then  the  scene  of  much  gaiety. 
No    doubt    some    persons    of    note    in    those   days 

231 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

visited  the  wells,  though  their  names  may  be  un- 
recorded. 

In  17 1 7  it  appears  from  an  advertisement  in  the 
Post  Boy  that  the  water  was  on  sale  at  several 
London  coffee-houses,  namely,  at  Nando's  Coffee 
House,  near  Temple  Bar,  Child's  Coffee  House  in 
St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  the  Garter  Coffee  House 
behind  the  Royal  Exchange,  and  at  the  '*  Two  Post 
Boys"  in  Stocks  Market.  In  the  year  just  mentioned 
one  Thomas  Lambert  was  proprietor.  About  fifteen 
years  after  this  an  announcement  appeared  in  the 
Daily  Journal  {]un%  13,  1732),  that  Streatham  Wells 
House  was  to  be  let.  It  is  described  therein  as  being 
"agood  brick  house,  with  large  stabling,  famous  for 
excellent  waters,  and  is  much  frequented.  Situate 
on  Streatham  Common,  about  six  miles  from  London 
in  the  road  to  Croydon.  The  house  being  kept  open 
by  the  desire  of  several  gentlemen ;  there  is  good 
accommodation  and  an  ordinary  every  Sunday. — In- 
quire of  Mr.  Charles  Shuckburgh,  Grocer  at  the 
White  Hart  in  Blowbladder  Street, ^  the  upper  end  of 
Cheapside." 

Dr.  Rutty  states  that  in  1744  Streatham  waters, 
with  those  of  Acton  and  Dulwich,  were  most  in 
vogue.  Assemblies  are  mentioned  as  being  held  in 
connection  with  Streatham  Wells  so  late  as  1755,  but 
from  that  date  till  the  time  when  Lysons  was  writing 
his  *'  Environs  of  London  "  (1792)  nothing  of  special 
interest  is  to  be  found  concerning  them,  except  for 
the  visits  of  Dr.  Johnson,  who  from  about  1766  down 
to  almost  the  last  twenty  years  of  his  life,  was  a 
constant   visitor  at  Thrale  Place,  whence  a  pleasant 

*  Now  Newgate  Street. 
232 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

walk  over  the  Common,  which  then  extended  on  the 
west  side  of  the  high  road,  brought  him  to  the  wells. 

A  few  years  later,  that  is  after  about  1792,  Mr. 
Arnold  says,  but  without  giving  his  authority,  the 
spring  was  closed.  A  little  building  encloses  the 
pump  over  the  well,  which  attains  the  depth  of  35 
feet,  the  raising  apparatus  having  gone  to  decay.  ^ 
This  little  erection  is  in  the  kitchen  garden  of  "The 
Rookery,"  which  is  surrounded  by  high  walls,  and 
in  that  way  the  old  spring,  of  which  John  Aubrey 
wrote,   is  enshrined. 

The  final  closing  of  the  old  spring  caused 
people  to  turn  their  attention  to  another  spring  of 
a  similar  kind,  which  had  been  discovered  at 
the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  about  half  a 
mile  distant  on  the  east  side  of  the  village  of 
Streatham,  at  the  bottom  of  Wells  Lane,  on  a  part 
of  the  Common  of  the  Manor  of  Leigham  called  Lime 
Common. 

And  here  it  may  be  noted  that  most  writers,  from 
Lysons  onwards,  fail  to  make  it  sufficiently  clear  that 
the  medicinal  well  in  the  Valley  Road,  the  only  one 
now   open,    is   quite  distinct   from,   and  was  in  fact 

^  The  present  condition  of  the  old  well  is  thus  described  by 
Mr.  H.  Wilson  Holman  in  a  letter  to  the  writer  :  ^*  The  old 
Streatham  Spa  House,  at  present  occupied  by  Mr.  Ernest  S. 
Holman,  is  the  freehold  property  of  the  trustees  of  the  Coster 
Estate.  The  well  in  the  kitchen  garden  is  still  (1907)  in  exist- 
ence, with  an  old  lead  pump  attached.  During  the  tenancy  of 
the  former  owner  this  water  appears  to  have  been  used  for 
bathing  purposes,  as  there  is  a  circular  house  over  the  well  and 
pump  and  a  big  lead  bath.  I  have  not  an  analysis  of  this  water, 
but  beheve  it  is  aperient  in  its  action,  there  being  traces  of 
Epsom  salts  and  iron.  It  is  reported  to  be  now  unfit  for  drink- 
ing purposes." 

233 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

discovered  more  than  a  century  and  a  half  after,  the 
original  springs  on  the  Common.  Lysons,  in  the 
second  edition  of  his  **  Environs  of  London"  (1811), 
speaks  of  Streatham  water  as  being  "still  held  in 
considerable  esteem,"  but  that  '*  there  are  no  accom- 
modations for  persons  who  come  to  drink  it  on  the 
spot,  yet  the  well  is  much  resorted  to  by  those  who 
cannot  afford  a  more  expensive  journey."  These 
remarks  convey  the  impression  that  he  is  referring 
to  the  old  wells,  were  it  not  for  the  reference  to  the 
want  of  "  accommodations,"  which  we  know  the  new 
wells  were  unable  to  provide. 

Some  time  before  1809  the  wells  were  visited  by 
Miss  Priscilla  Wakefield,  authoress  of  "  Perambula- 
tions in  London,"  published  in  that  year,  in  which 
she  writes :  "  We  stopped  at  Streatham,  where  we 
tasted  of  a  mineral  spring  which  would  probably  be 
more  highly  esteemed  for  its  medicinal  qualities  by  the 
Londoners,  if  it  was  not  so  near  home,  as  the  water 
is  sent  in  considerable  quantities  to  the  hospitals." 
Here  again,  relying  upon  Mr.  Arnold's  information 
as  to  the  closing  of  the  old  wells,  it  was  the  new 
spring  on  Lime  Common  that  Miss  Wakefield  visited. 
It  was  not  until  Walford  undertook  the  revision  of 
Brayley's  ** History  of  Surrey"  (published  by  Virtue 
and  Co.  in  1848)  that  a  proper  distinction  was  made 
between  the  original  well  on  Streatham  Common 
and  its  successor  on  Lime  Common,  the  former  being 
described  as  belonging  to  the  Vauxhall  Manor  in 
Lower  Streatham,  and  the  latter  to  the  Manor  of 
Leigham. 

Later  on  in  the  nineteenth  century,  when  tea- 
gardens  were  still  resorted  to  by  Londoners,  the  one 

234 


L.^:^ 


2,   6 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

attached  to  Streatham  (new)  Wells  House  was  used 
down  to  the  eighteen-sixties.  The  house  itself  is  a 
plain  but  substantial  building  of  brick,  faced  with 
stucco,  and  having  a  bust  of  ^sculapius  over  the 
doorway.  On  the  north  side  of  the  house,  and 
forming  a  sort  of  annexe  to  it,  is  a  room  which 
contains  the  pump  over  the  well,  where  the  water 
can  be  drunk  on  the  premises.  It  is  sold  in  bottles,  at 
sixpence  per  gallon ;  in  glasses  at  one  penny  each ; 
and  is  delivered  to  all  parts  of  London  at  one  shilling 
per  gallon.  From  inquiries  made,  it  appears  that 
the  water  is  not  advertised  in  the  local  newspapers, 
though  casual  notices  have  been  published  from 
time  to  time  in  some  of  the  London  papers,  e.g., 
the  Westminster  Gazette,  Pall  Mall  Gazette,  Daily 
Mail,  and  Morning  Post.  However,  according  to  a 
pamphlet  procurable  at  the  wells,  the  water  is 
**  delivered  to  all  parts  of  London  daily,"  and  **sent  to 
all  parts  of  the  United  Kingdom  "  ;  also  exported  to 
Delagoa  Bay  and  Buenos  Ay  res ;  so  that  a  trade  is 
still  done  in  it.  The  following  particulars  are  quoted 
from  the  pamphlet :  **  The  water  rises  at  a  tem- 
perature of  52°  Fahrenheit.  When  recently  pumped 
up  it  has  a  slight  odour  of  sulphur,  is  sparkling  and 
bright,  and  although  it  contains  much  sulphate  of 
magnesia,  it  is  not  unpleasant  to  the  taste ;  on  the 
contrary,  it  leaves  behind  it  a  freshness  which  is 
grateful  to  the  palate.  Although  it  contains  quite 
an  appreciable  amount  of  iron,  causing  an  ochreous 
deposit  to  form  upon  the  pumping  apparatus,  it 
cannot  properly  be  classed  as  a  chalybeate,  like 
Hampstead  Wells,  for  example. 

An  analysis  of  the  water  was  made  in  April,  1895, 

235 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

by  Messrs.  Redwood  and  de  Hailes,  analytical 
chemists,  of  Red  Lion  Square,  Holborn,  with  the 
following  result : — 

Sample  of  Mineral   Water  from  the  Well  at  Streatham^  in  the 
possession  of  Messrs.  Curtis  Brothers^  Valley  Road. 


Magnesium  Sulphate  ... 

415*10  grains  per  gallon. 

Sodium  Chloride 

19-65 

» 

Ferrous  Carbonate 

3-04 

)f 

Potassium  Chloride     ... 

Traces 

Calcium  Carbonate     ... 

76-67 

1) 

Sodium  Carbonate 

i8-oo 

)» 

The  water  is  naturally  charged  with  Carbonic  Acid.  Taken 
internally,  it  would  act  as  a  mild  aperient. 

Redwood  &  de  Hailes. 

The  pamphlet  goes  on  to  describe  the  effect  this 
water  has  upon  the  system :  "  The  late  Dr.  Baillie 
found  it  a  most  valuable  remedy  in  liver  complaints 
and  indigestion,  especially  in  jaundice  and  bilious 
attacks.  Its  action  as  a  tonic  is  not  mechanical ;  it 
restores  strength  and  vigour  to  the  weakened  frame 
by  a  direct  operation  on  the  system  in  general,  and 
by  improving  the  quality  of  the  blood."  Without 
attributing  to  the  Streatham  waters  any  marvellous 
cures,  they  may  still  be  credited  with  the  power  of 
restoring  an  impaired  state  of  the  digestive  organs, 
which,  considering  the  importance  of  their  function, 
is  no  slight  merit. 

The  continued  pureness  and  immunity  from  con- 
tamination of  the  well  is  doubtless  due  to  its  isolated 
position,  the  premises  standing  in  their  own  grounds, 
apart  from  the  nearest  buildings  in  the  Valley  Road. 

Locally  there  seems  to  be  only  a  very  slight 
demand  for  the  water ;  a  few  regular  customers  there 

236 


By-.--*-   jiJ 

^^^^He-"' 

J 

1 

"THE   ROOKERY,"   STREATHAM   COMMON. 

In  the  back  garden  is  the  medicinal  well.    From  a  photograph 
taken  about  1900. 


Outlying  Spas  and  Wells  of  South  London 

may  be,  and  occasionally  a  chance  caller  will  drop 
in  to  taste  the  water,  perhaps  more  through  curiosity 
than  from  any  intention  of  becoming  a  regular 
drinker.  There  would  therefore  appear  to  be  little 
inducement  to  the  proprietors  to  make  any  special 
efforts  to  attract  customers.  Such  being  the  condition 
of  affairs,  there  is  small  hope  of  any  material  increase/ 
in  the  local  demand  for  these  waters. 

With  the  object  of  ascertaining  the  earliest  mention 
of  these  later  wells,  an  exhaustive  search  was  made 
by  the  writer  some  four  years  ago  in  the  Streatham 
parish  rate-books,  back  to  the  year  1780,  covering 
a  period  of  nearly  125  years,  and  though  there  was 
no  great  difficulty  in  identifying  the  house,  yet  in 
none  of  the  books  is  any  mention  made  of  the 
mineral  well,  for,  besides  the  house  itself,  only 
offices,  outhouses,  sheds,  and  meadow-land  are  par- 
ticularised. 

The  Curtis  family  have,  according  to  the  rate- 
books, occupied  these  premises  since  about  the  year 
1875.  when  Thomas  Curtis  took  them  over  from 
one  Nathaniel  Hibbart,  James  Coster's  executors 
being  the  owners.  Thomas  was  succeeded  by  Mrs. 
Curtis  (presumably  his  widow),  after  whom  the 
brothers  Curtis  had  possession,  which  they  still  retain. 

One  of  the  earliest,  if  not  quite  the  earliest,  map 
on  which  the  existing  spring  is  marked,  is  by  W. 
Faden,  1810 :  the  words  "Streatham  Wells"  are 
inserted  in  it  just  against  the  hill  of  Lime  Common. 

There  is  in  the  Guildhall  Library  an  Indian-ink 
drawing  of  the  house,  dated  1831,  and  on  the  walls 
of  the  Pump  Room  hang  two  or  three  water-colour 
sketches  of  the  house. 

237 


CHAPTER   IV 

WELLS  AT  RICHMOND  AND   EAST  SHEEN 

Richmond  Wells — Saline  spring — Noticed  by  Dr.  Benjamin 
Allen  in  1699 — House  of  entertainment — Balls  and 
concerts  advertised — Dissipated  company  at  the  wells — 
Raffling  and  card-playing — The  place  eventually  purchased 
by  the  Misses  Houblon — Well  at  East  Sheen,  adjoining 
Palewell  Park. 

ABOUT  the  year  1689,  or,  according  to  some 
writers,  two  or  three  years  earlier,  a  saline 
spring  was  discovered  at  Richmond  in  grounds 
subsequently  occupied  by  Cardigan  House, ^  which 
stands  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  going  towards  the 
town. 

Dr.  Benjamin  Allen,  in  his  "  Natural  History 
of  the  Chalybeate  Waters  of  England"  (1699), 
mentions,  among  other  purging  or  aperient  waters, 
this  one  at  Richmond,  but  without  giving  any  par- 
ticular account  of  it,  merely  saying :  **  This  water 
is  a  level  spring ;  the  wells  are  on  the  side  of  the 

»  Cardigan  House  was  once  the  residence  of  the  Earl  of 
Cardigan,  and  afterwards  of  Miss  Roberts,  who  was  occupying 
i,t  in  1842,  and  who  left  it  to  her  relative,  Mr.  James  Campbell, 
from  whom  it  was  purchased  by  Captain  Willis,  one  of  the 
Conservators  of  the  River  Thames.  (Chancellor's  ^^  History  and 
Antiquities  of  Richmond,"  1894.) 

238       * 


Wells  at  Richmond  and  East  Sheen 

hill  a  few  rods  from  the  River  Thames,  in  a  brown 
loamy  clay,  and  are  about  nine  feet  to  the  bottom 
of  the  water.  .  .  .  This  water  purgeth  well,  but  I 
think  scarce  so  much  as  Epsom  and  Acton,  but  more 
smoothly." 

It  was  not  until  about  six  or  seven  years  after  the 
discovery  of  the  spring  that  a  house  of  entertain- 
ment was  built  in  conjunction  with  it.  This  was  in 
1695-96:  Assembly,  Card,  and  Raffling  Rooms  were 
added,  and  the  place  received  a  considerable  amount 
of  public  patronage.  An  advertisement  in  the  London 
Gazette  for  April  20-23,  1696,  affords  some  notion  of 
the  appearance  of  the  place  just  before  its  opening. 
It  runs  thus:  "  The  New  Wells  on  Richmond  Hill 
will  be  compleated  for  the  reception  of  Company  this 
following  May.  There  is  a  large  and  lofty  Dining 
Room,  broad  walks,  open  and  shady,  near  300  feet 
long,  cut  out  of  the  descent  of  the  Hill,  with  a 
prospect  of  all  the  country  about.'*  There  were  two 
entrances,  one  in  the  lower  road  leading  to  Petersham, 
the  other  about  where  the  lodge  and  entrance-gates  to 
Cardigan  House  now  are. 

The  management  lost  no  time  in  providing  amuse- 
ment for  their  patrons.  An  advertisement  which 
appeared  in  the  Post  Boy  for  June  11,  1696,  was  as 
follows  :  **  At  Richmond  New  Wells  a  Consort  of 
Musick,  both  Vocal  and  Instrumental,  will  be  per- 
formed on  Monday  next  (13th)  at  Noon,  by  principal 
Hands  and  the  best  Voices,  composed  new  for  the 
day  by  Mr.  Frank ;  the  songs  will  be  printed  and  sold 
there."  Although  not  expressly  stated,  this  was 
probably  the  occasion  of  the  inauguration  of  the 
wells,     for    no    advertisement     prior    to    this    date 

239 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

appears  in  any  newspaper  of  that  day ;  that  of  the 
previous  April  merely  set  forth  the  attractions  of  the 
spot. 

The  success  of  the  new  speculation  would  appear 
to  have  far  exceeded  the  expectations  of  the  pro- 
prietor, for  soon  afterwards  such  a  concourse  of 
persons  of  quality  attended  that  the  price  of  admission 
was  requested  to  be  doubled,  to  keep  the  company 
select :  this  increase,  however,  made  it  only  sixpence 
each  person  ;  but  probably  this  sum  did  not  include 
any  of  the  entertainments,  the  charge  for  concert 
tickets  being,  we  are  told,  five  shillings  each.  In  the 
London  Gazette  for  April  5-8,  1697,  ^he  wells  were 
for  some  unexplained  reason,  advertised  for  disposal 
by  purchase  or  lease. 

From  the  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century 
advertisements  appeared  in  the  public  press  at  pretty 
frequent  intervals  :  in  these  the  principal  attractions 
held  out  during  the  first  five-and-twenty  years  or  so 
were  musical  entertainments  and  dancing.  Games  of 
chance,  as  was  customary  at  these  resorts,  were  freely 
indulged  in  by  those  who  had  either  passed  the  age 
for  active  amusements  or  lacked  the  taste  for  them. 

Referring  to  the  Postman  of  August  9,  1 701,  we 
read  that  a  concert  was  to  be  held  in  the  Great 
Room  **  to  hear  a  Mr.  Abel  sing  alone  to  the  harp- 
sichord." Later  in  the  evening  there  was  to  be 
dancing.  In  the  same  paper  for  August  10,  1703,  is 
advertised  a  **  Great  Consort  of  Music,  beginning  at  5 
and  ending  at  7,  because  of  the  dancing  after."  Tickets 
at  five  shillings  each  were  to  be  had  at  Whites 
Chocolate  House  and  Garra way's  Coffee  House. 

Some  of  these  advertisements  have  a  postscript  to 

240 


I 


Wells  at  Richmond  and  East  Sheen 

them  containing  hints  about  the  tides  upon  the  river, 
such  as  that  **the  Tyde  of  Flood  begins  at  i  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon  and  flows  till  5,  ebbs  till  12  for  the 
conveniency  of  returning."  This  reads  rather  oddly 
when  one  thinks  of  the  Thames  of  to-day,  which, 
except  in  the  summer  months,  is  comparatively 
deserted,  save  for  a  few  barges  and  steam-tugs ; 
certainly  no  one  thinks  of  using  it  at  night.  The 
waterway  was  chosen  in  those  days  because  it  offered 
a  far  easier,  quicker,  and  even  safer  way,  than  the 
roads,  which  shortly  after  the  Hanoverian  accession 
must  have  been  truly  abominable,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  risk  of  encountering  footpads.  In  a  work  called 
*'A  Journey  through  England  in  1724,"  Richmond 
Wells  is  mentioned  thus :  The  author,  one  Mackay, 
says,  "  There  are  balls  at  Richmond  Wells  every 
Monday  and  Thursday  evening  during  the  summer 
season."  The  Craftsman  of  June  11,  1730,  contains 
a  notification  **  to  all  gentlemen  and  ladies  that  have 
a  mind  either  to  raffle  for  gold  chains,  equipages,  or 
any  other  curious  toys,  and  fine  old  china ;  and  like- 
wise play  at  quadrille,  ombre,  whist,  &c.,  and  on 
Saturdays  and  Mondays  during  the  summer  season 
there  will  be  dancing  as  usual."  The  dissipation  here 
indicated  went  gaily  on,  and  dating  from  its  com- 
mencement! in  1696,  the  wells  enjoyed  a  career  of 
success  and  popularity  for  above  half  a  century. 
Like  Ranelagh  and  Bagnigge  Wells,  and  indeed  most 
of  the  pleasure  gardens,  breakfasts,  as  well  as  dinners 
and  teas,  were  supplied  at  the  Richmond  Wells.  The 
fashion  of  the  public  breakfast,  now  so  entirely  for- 
gotten, was  brought  to  London  from  Bath,  Tunbridge 
Wells,  and  Epsom.     Tea  and  coffee  were  served  at 

241  Q 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

this  meal,  which  is  specially  mentioned  in  advertise- 
ments issued  in  May  and  June,  1748,  when  a  Mr.  W. 
Knight  was  proprietor  of  the  wells.  In  1750  they 
appear  to  have  reached  the  summit  of  their  prosperity, 
and  from  about  this  period  their  rather  rapid  decline 
may  be  dated.  Assemblies  were  still  made  known  in 
1755,  and  also  in  1756,  at  which  time  a  Mr.  Williams 
was  proprietor.  A  change  for  the  worse  seems  now 
to  have  stolen  over  the  tastes  and  pursuits  of  the 
visitors.  There  was  much  card-playing  but  little 
water-drinking !  The  w^ealthier  visitors  soon  began 
to  withdraw  their  support ;  the  prices  of  admission 
were  lowered  in  order  to  attract  a  lower  class  of 
customers,  and  these  soon  obtained  for  the  place  an 
unenviable  notoriety.  The  noise  and  tumult  pre- 
vailing each  night  became  a  nuisance  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  place  was  eventually  (in  1775) 
purchased  by  two  maiden  ladies — the  Misses 
Houblon — founders  of  the  charity  known  as  the 
Houblon  Almshouses  in  the  Marsh  Gate  Road, 
Richmond. 

Dr.  John  Evans,  writing  about  Richmond  in  1825, 
says  :  *'  Some  of  the  oldest  inhabitants  of  Richmond 
recollect  there  being  a  house  and  assembly  room 
adjoining  the  medicinal  well."  A  large  antiquated 
building  in  the  Lower  Road  was  pulled  down  a  few 
years  before  1866,  which  was  said  by  an  old  in- 
habitant to  have  originally  formed  a  portion  of  the 
wells  establishment.  The  rooms  of  this  building, 
from  their  peculiar  construction  and  style,  had 
evidently  been  originally  intended  for  a  house  of 
public  entertainment.  They  bore  traces  of  a 
structure  of  a  superior  character,  being  well  finished 

242 


i 


Wells  at  Richmond  and  East  Sheen 

and  ornamented  with  heavy  cornices.  An  old  pile, 
consisting  of  stabling  and  coach-houses,  &c.,  cleared 
away  about  1861-62  for  the  purpose  of  building  the 
row  of  small  houses  known  as  River  Dale  Terrace, 
doubtless  formed  a  small  remaining  portion  of  a  much 
larger  erection  for  putting  up  the  horses  and  vehicles 
of  the  nobility  and  others  who  came  to  the  wells  at 
one  time  in  great  numbers,  especially  on  gala  nights. 
With  the  exception  of  these  buildings,  all  the  others 
were  demolished,  and  according  to  Mr.  Richard 
Crisp,  I  about  the  year  1780  Richmond  Wells  as  a 
place  of  entertainment  had  ceased  to  exist. 

Dr.  Evans,2  who  has  been  already  mentioned,  says: 
*'  There  is  no  chalybeate  spring  now  at  Richmond, 
properly  speaking ;  but  there  is  in  the  New  Park, 3  at 
the  top  of  the  hill,  a  bubbling  up  of  water,  which 
running  down  into  the  adjacent  vale,  exhibits  indica- 
tions of  an  ochreous  description,  which,"  he  naively 
adds,  ''might  be  gathered  into  a  basin,  and  become 
subservient  to  the  health  of  visitants." 

In  reply  to  an  inquiry  made  by  the  writer  about 
three  years  ago  as  to  the  existence  of  the  well  in 
the  grounds  of  Cardigan  House,  the  information 
given  by  Miss  Willis,  who  resides  there,  was  that 
frequent  search  had  been  made  for  it  during  the 
last  thirty  years,  but  without  a   successful   result. 

A  search  through  the  collections  of  local  literature 

^  "Richmond  and  its  Inhabitants  from  the  Olden  Time," 
Richard  Crisp,  1866. 

2  "  Richmond  and  its  Vicinity,"  by  John  Evans,  LL.D.,.  second 
edition,  1825. 

3  This  answers  to  Richmond  Park,  as  now  known.  The  Old 
Deer  Park  adjoins  Kew  Gardens. 

243 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

and  prints  at  the  Richmond  Public  Library,  kindly 
made  for  the  writer  by  the  Librarian — Mr.  Albert 
A.  Barkas — failed  to  discover  any  picture  of  the 
Richmond  Wells  Buildings ;  but  it  is  of  course 
possible  that  some  representation  of  them  may  exist 
in  private  hands. 

At  East  Sheen,  in  the  north-west  corner  of 
Pale  well  Common  (known  locally  as  the  ''  Donkey 
Common "),  adjoining  Palewell  Park,  is  a  well,  the 
water  of  which,  some  forty  years  ago,  was,  in  the 
recollection  of  an  old  inhabitant,  much  used  by 
people  of  the  neighbourhood  for  bathing  the  eyes  ; 
and  for  the  legs,  especially  of  children,  probably 
those  having  skin  complaints.  The  spring,  which 
was  reputed  to  contain  some  mineral  constituents 
(among  them  probably  a  little  iron)  helps  to  feed  a 
pond  close  by.  There  is  now  (1908)  no  apparatus 
for  drawing  the  water,  which,  when  in  an  undisturbed 
state,  is  clear  and  pure. 

Many  of  the  eighteenth-century  spas  and  tea- 
gardens  lasted  almost  to  our  own  time — at  least 
those  of  us  who  are  beyond  middle  age — but  the 
original  character  of  such  places  as  Bagnigge  Wells 
(closed  1 841),  White  Conduit  House  (closed  1849), 
and  Highbury  Barn  (closed  1871)  became  greatly 
altered.  Beulah  Spa,  the  last  of  the  London  **  Spas  '* 
{circa  1831-54),  had  a  shorter  life  than  either  of 
the  places  just  named.  Its  amusements  were  in 
every  way  characteristic  of  a  later  period ;  the 
changes  in  the  manners  and  morals  of  the  age  since 
the  reigns  of  Anne  and  the  Georges  being  doubt- 
less accountable  for  this. 

244 


PART  III 

CONDUIT   SYSTEM   OF  WATER-SUPPLY 


CHAPTER   I 

THE    LONDON    BASIN,    SHALLOW   WELLS,    CITY 
CONDUITS 

Geology  of  the  London  Basin — Tyburn  Conduit — Population 
of  London — Great  Conduit  in  Chepe — Pay  of  workmen — 
Little  Conduit — Conduit  at  Stocks  Market — The  Standard 
opposite  the  end  of  Honey  Lane — John  Lydgate — Pageants 
— Catherine  of  Aragon's  State  entry  into  London — The 
Tonne,  or  Tun,  upon  Cornhill — Stow's  explanation  of  the 
name — Charterhouse,  provided  its  own  water-supply — 
Conduits  at  London  Wall,  Coleman  Street,  Bishopsgate. 

THE  opening  chapter  of  "Early  London,"  the 
latest  volume  of  Sir  Walter  Besant's  **  Survey  of 
London,"  written  by  Professor  Bonney,  invites  the 
reader  to  picture  the  valley  of  the  Thames  "as  it  was 
more  than  two  thousand  years  ago,  when  the  uplands 
north  of  the  river  were  covered  by  a  dense  forest, 
and  the  '  Andreds  Wald '  (as  it  was  afterwards 
named) — a  vast  sheet  of  scrub,  woodland,  and  waste 
stretching  from  the  Sussex  Coast  to  the  slopes  of  the 
Kentish  Downs."  Through  the  valley  the  Thames 
must  have  flowed  "  in  a  channel  broader  but  straighter 
than  its  present  one,  a  channel  which  is  now  indi- 
cated by  a  tract  of  alluvial  land  a  few  feet  below 
the  level  of  the  valley,  and  but  little  above  high- 
water  mark.  .    .    .    The  most    marked  indication   of 

247 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

this  alluvial  plain  begins  about  a  mile  below  London 
Bridge.  Here  the  left  bank  of  the  river  is  formed, 
as  it  has  been  from  the  bend  at  Hungerford  Bridge, 
by  a  terrace  ranging  at  first  from  about  25  to  40  feet 
above  mean  tide  level,  a  most  important  physical 
feature,  for  it  determined  the  site  of  London."  ^  But 
the  choice  of  the  site  was  made  primarily  because 
of  the  river,  for  without  the  Thames  there  would 
have  been  no  city  ;  the  silent  highway  of  its  broad 
waters  bears  the  commerce  which  sustains  the  city, 
and  has  enabled  it  to  develop  into  the  market-place 
of  the  world. 

The  greater  part  of  old  London  and  the  many 
villages  2  now  incorporated  in  modern  London  were 
built  on  the  valley  gravel  and  loam  (brick-earth)  ; 
ancient  alluvial  deposits  of  the  Thames  and  its 
tributaries,  occupying  tracts  above  the  level  of  the 
marshland.  The  residential  sites  were  naturally 
chosen  where  a  supply  of  drinking-water  could  readily 
be  obtained  from  springs  and  brooks  or  by  means 

'  The  height  of  the  ground  on  the  Middlesex  side  is  not 
inconsiderable,  though  it  is  difficult  to  realise,  as  the  physical 
features  are  so  much  masked  by  buildings.  Following  a  line 
from  east  to  west  along  the  top  of  what  was  once  a  low  cliff 
overhanging  the  river,  the  highest  points  marked  on  the 
Ordnance  Survey  Map  of  London  (ed.  1894-96)  are  these  :  On 
Tower  Hill  42-3  feet  above  the  mean  level  of  the  sea  ;  Grace- 
church  Street  56*8  feet  ;  Royal  Exchange  (south  side)  507  feet ; 
St,  Paul's  Churchyard  (north-east  angle  of  Cathedral)  57*9  feet  ; 
Newgate  Street  (corner  of  St,  Martin's-le-Grande)  59*8  feet ; 
Fleet  Street  (at  Fetter  Lane)  50*8  feet,  &c,  (Edinburgh  Review^ 
October,  1908), 

«  Entick  ("  History  and  Survey  of  London,"  1766)  puts  these 
at  49,  together  with  one  city  (Westminster)  and  one  borough 
(Southwark). 

248 


Shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

of  wells.  Obtaining  supplies  from  the  latter  by  the 
bucket  and  windlass  was,  however,  often  attended 
with  considerable  difficulty  on  account  of  the  great 
depth  to  the  source  of  the  water,  except  in  the  case 
of  shallow  wells,  ^  long  used  for  collecting  moderate 
supplies  of  water,  where  a  permeable  stratum,  such  as 
the  gravel,  overlies  an  impermeable  stratum,  such  as 
the  London  Clay. 

A  few  remarks  on  the  geological  structure  of  the 
London  area  may  serve  to  render  the  subject  more 
intelligible.  London  is  situated  on  what  is  termed  in 
geological  language  a  "  basin  " — the  "  London  Basin." 
The  solid  foundation,  at  some  depth  underground 
(150  to  300  feet,  and  less  in  places)  is  composed  of  the 
chalk,  a  formation  here  about  650  feet  in  thickness. 
This  it  is  which  constitutes  the  so-called  basin,  whose 
broad  rim  comes  to  the  surface  in  the  Chiltern  Hills 
on  the  north  and  north-west,  and  in  the  North  Downs 
on  the  south.  The  hollow  of  the  London  Basin  is 
filled  by  a  series  of  sedimentary  formations  which 
belongs  to  the  period  called  Eocene  and  is  classed 
as  Tertiary.  Conforming  generally  to  the  gentle 
fold  into  which  the  chalk  has  been  bent,  they  consist 
of  a  lowermost  group  of  sands,  pebble-beds,  and 
clays,  known  as  the  Lower  London  Tertiaries,  over- 
lain by  a  great  mass  of  clay,  termed  the  London 
Clay,  and  followed   by  a  group  of  sands  with  thin 

'  Shallow  wells  catch  the  ground  and  subsoil  water  ;  they  are 
generally  under  50  feet  deep,  the  water  is  hard,  nearly  always 
impure,  and  often  foul  from  sewage.  They  rarely  supply 
enough  water  for  more  than  a  few  houses,  and  the  cost 
of  pumping  being  generally  prohibitive  the  water  has  to  be 
carried  by  hand. 

349 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

clayey  bands  known  as  the  Bagshot  Sand,  which  in 
London  itself  caps  the  higher  grounds  of  Hampstead 
and  Highgate.  Of  these  strata  the  London  Clay 
occupies  the  most  extensive  area,  the  thinner  group 
below  (Lower  London  Tertiaries)  appearing  at  the 
surface  over  a  comparatively  narrow  belt.^  North  of 
the  Thames  the  London  Clay,  overlain  by  gravel,  is 
arranged  in  two  well-marked  terraces,  each  with  a 
pronounced  declivity  bounding  it  on  the  south,  while 
northwards  it  dies  off  imperceptibly  as  the  clay  rises 
to  the  surface.  The  lower  terrace  is  bounded  by 
the  steep  fall  from  the  Strand  to  the  Thames,  and 
here  the  spring  at  the  old  Roman  Bath  still  exists 
to  mark  the  junction  of  gravel  and  clay.  These 
terraced  gravels  were,  in  fact,  the  great  water-bearing 
strata  of  London. 2 

Most  villages,  like  those  of  old  in  the  London 
area,  have  been  built  on  porous  subsoils  from  which 
the  water-supply  was  readily  obtained,  and  in  most 
cases  such  shallow  sources  became  exposed  to  the 
worst  forms  of  contamination.  The  soakage  from 
stables,  from  cess-pits,  and  in  some  instances  the 
infiltration  of  the  decaying  matter  from  burial- 
grounds,  had  rendered  many  of  the  shallow  wells 
actually  poisonous  ;  clear,  sparkling,  even  palatable, 
though  the  water  might  be,  there  was  often  *' death 
in  the  cup."  A  pump,  the  water  of  which  was  much 
esteemed,   stood   by  the   wall    of  the  churchyard   of 

'  For  the  above  information  the  writer  is  indebted  to  "  Soils 
and  Subsoils  of  London  and  its  Neighbourhood,'*  by  Horace  B. 
Woodward,  2nd  ed.,  1906. 

*  A.  Morley  Davies,  "  London's  First  Conduit  System,"  London 
and  Middlesex  Archaeological  Society  Transactions,  1907. 

250 


Shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

St.  Giles-in-the-Fields  in  High  Street  (south  of  New 
Oxford  Street).  The  water  became  infected,  and  the 
cholera  ravaged  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 

Outside  the  City  limits  the  growth  of  London  was, 
as  pointed  out  by  Sir  Joseph  Prestwich,^  restricted, 
till  the  regular  establishment  of  waterworks,  to  the 
parts  possessing  superficial  water-bearing  strata,  as 
at  Chelsea,  Kensington,  and  Hammersmith  in  the 
west ;  at  Clapham  and  Camberwell  southwards ; 
Bow  and  Hackney  eastwards ;  and  northwards  at 
Clerkenwell,  Bloomsbury,  Marylebone,  and  Padding- 
ton.  Here  and  there  only,  beyond  the  main  body 
of  the  gravel,  there  were  a  few  outliers,  such  as  those 
at  Islington  and  Highbury,  and  there  houses  were 
to  be  found.  The  clay  area  of  Camden  Town, 
Kentish  Town,  Maida  Vale,  Kilburn,  and  other  tracts 
north  of  King's  Cross  and  Marylebone,  were  not 
populated  until  a  supply  of  drinking-water  from  a 
distance  was  brought  in  conduits. 

Within  the  City  itself,  as  the  population  ^  gradually 

^  Address  to  Geol.  Soc,  1872,  Quart.  Journ.  GeoL  Soc, 
vol.  xxviii.  p.  liii. 

'^  With  all  his  fulness  of  detail,  Stow  makes  no  attempt  to  sum 
up  the  number  of  inhabitants.  Some  notion  of  the  size  of 
London  in  the  Middle  Ages  may  be  formed  from  contemporary 
writers,  from  whom  it  appears  that  in  1199  London  had  40,000 
inhabitants.  A  century  and  a  half  later — namely,  in  1349 — the 
number  could  not  have  been  more  than  50,000,  this  estimate 
being  in  keeping  with  the  returns  of  the  poll-tax  in  1377  (Sub- 
sidy Rolls).  During  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  centuries  there 
was  no  very  appreciable  change,  but  in  Elizabethan  London 
the  increase  was  considerable  ;  in  a  normal  year  like  1580, 
the  baptisms  were  one-fourth  more  than  the  burials.  Under  the 
Stuart  Kings  the  population  increased  still  more  rapidly,  partly 
due   to  the   influx   of   people  from  the   country  and  abroad, 

251 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

increased,  a  plentiful  supply  of  wholesome  water  was 
more  than  ever  needed,  and  consequently  the  citizens, 
as  Stow  expresses  it,  were  '*  forced  to  seek  sweet 
waters  abroad."  In  London,  as  in  other  cities,  the 
obligation  of  furnishing  water  rested  with  the 
Corporation.  Accordingly,  in  the  20th  year  of 
Henry  III.  (1236)  they  obtained  leave  to  construct 
conduits,  bringing  water  from  springs  in  the  Manor 
of  Tyburn,  at  that  time  belonging  to  Gilbert  de 
Sanford,  on  the  site  now  known  as  Stratford  Place, 
Oxford  Street.  Royal  letters  patent,  bearing  date 
1236,  set  forth  that  this  grant  was  **  for  the  profit 
of  the  City,  and  good  of  the  whole  realm  thither 
repairing :  to  wit,  for  the  poor  to  drink,  and  the  rich 
to  dress  their  meat " — quaint  terms  which  often  recur 
in  subsequent  documents  alluding  to  the  Tyburn 
source  of  supply. 

City  records  mention  the  Tyburn  Conduit  (la 
funtayne  de  Tybourne)  in  the  year  1237,  when  a 
convention  or  compact  was  entered  into  between  the 
citizens  of  London  and  merchants  of  Amiens,  Corby, 
and  Nele,  in  Picardy.  In  return  for  the  privilege 
of  landing  and  warehousing  woad  and  other  com- 
modities within  the  City,  which,  until  the  compact  of 

who  filled  up  the  gaps  made  by  the  "  plagues,"  so  that  the 
population  in  1661  from  the  contemporary  estimate  of  Graunt 
was  460,000,  though  only  one -fifth  of  this  amount — namely, 
92,000 — was  in  the  City  within  the  walls  ;  the  rest  was  distributed 
in  the  larger  out-parishes  and  liberties.  (See  "  The  Popula- 
tion of  Old  London,"  by  Dr.  C.  Creighton,  in  Blackwood's 
Magazine^  April,  1891.)  Gregory  King's  estimate  for  1694  is 
530,000,  but  probably  subject  to  the  same  distribution  as 
Graunt's  ;  Richman  (1701)  674,000 ;  and  Maitland  (1738) 
726,000. 

252 


Shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

1237,  they  could  only  sell  on  board  their  own  vessels, 
the  merchants,  besides  an  annual  payment  of  fifty 
marks,  gave  ;ifioo  sterling  '*au  Conduyt  del  ewe 
(de  I'eau  ?)  de  la  funtayne  de  Tybourne  amener  de 
la  cite  de  Loundres  " — then  in  course  of  building.^ 

Many  conduits, 2  as  Stow  and  others  call  them 
(but  more  properly  conduit-houses),  were  set  up  in 
various  thoroughfares.  There  were  in  all  nine 
conduits  or  bosses  3  in  different  parts  of  the  City, 
but  until  late  in  the  sixteenth  century  they  were 
all  on  the  western  side  of  the  Wallbrook ;  east 
of  that  stream,  the  City  was  supplied  by  wells, 
especially  by  one  opposite  the  future  site  of  the 
Royal  Exchange.  The  '*  Anglo-Norman  Chronicles 
of  London  "  (p.  237)  mention  one  of  these  conduits  in 
the  following  passage:  "This  year  (i273~74)  came 
King  Edward  I.  and  his  Wife  from  the  Holy  Land, 
and  were  crowned  at  Westminster  on  the  Sunday 
next  after  the  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  Our  Lady 
(August  15th) ;  and  the  Conduit  in  Chepe  ran  all  the 
day  with  red  and  white  wine  to  drink,  for  all  such  as 
wished."' 

The  Accounts  of  the  *'  Masters "  or  Keepers  of 
the    Great    Conduit   in    Chepe    for    the   year     1350 

'  Liber  Custumarum,  pp.  64-66. 

*  In  early  writings  and  records  "  conduit "  is  used  in  a  double 
sense,  meaning  both  the  channel  or  pipe  for  the  conveyance 
of  water  and  the  structure  from  which  it  was  distributed  or 
made  to  issue. 

3  Stow  tells  us  that  Boss  Alley  in  Lower  Thames  Street  was 
so  called  from  "  a  bosse  of  spring  water,  continually  running, 
which  standeth  by  BiUinsgate  against  this  alley."  This  and 
another  by  St.  Giles's  Church  without  Cripplegate  were  built 
about  the  year  1423. 

253 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

touch  on  many  points  of  interest.^  They  show  that 
the  conduit  was  maintained  and  kept  in  repair  by 
a  rate  levied  on  the  houses  of  Chepe  and  the 
Poultry,  and  that  this  rate,  for  two  years'  con- 
sumption, varied  from  los.  to  13s.  4d.  The  masters 
also  account  for  having  expended  various  sums  for 
mending  pipes ;  for  cleansing  and  washing  the 
fountain-head ;  for  closing  and  opening  the  Conduit 
(which  was  doubtless  closed  and  locked  up  at  night) ; 
hire  of  two  vadlets  2  twenty-four  days  to  collect  the 
money  for  the  tankard,  each  man  receiving  6d.  per 
day.  The  pay  of  the  workmen  was  8d.  per  day,  with 
a  penny  for  drink.  These  donations  for  drink  to 
workmen  are  called  in  Letter  Book  G,  fol.  iv. 
(27th  Edward  III.)  "  none-chenche,"  meaning  probably 
**  noon  s  quench." 

The  Conduit  of  London,  which  apparently  was  not 
distinguished  as  the  *'  Great"  Conduit  until  the  build- 
ing of  the  "  Little  "  Conduit,  is  named  also  in  a  grant 
made  by  "  Alice,  late  Wife  of  William  de  Chobham 
(Cobham)  of  the  Vill  of  Tybourne  to  Adam 
Fraunceys,  Mayor,  and  the  Commonalty  of  the  City, 
and  their  successors,  of  a  parcel  of  land  24  feet 
square,  situate  atte  Cherchende  in  the  said  vill  of 
Tybourne,  to  serve  for  a  fountain-head  to  the  Conduit 
of  London,  together  with  a  right  to  dig,  lay  cisterns 
and  small  subterranean  ways  under  40  feet  of  her 
land,  adjacent  to  the  aforesaid  parcel  of  land."  The 
deed  is  dated  February  20th,  28th  Edward  III.  (1355). 
Rymer  ("Fcedera,"   xi.    29)  contains  a   copy  of  the 

»  Riley's  '*  Memorials,"  pp.  264,  265. 
^  Vadlet,  a  superior  servant. 
254 


shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

grant,  and  there  is  a  reference  to  it  in  the  Liber 
Albus,  Letter  Book  G,   i8i. 

The  Great  Conduit  was  situate  at  the  Poultry  end 
of  Cheapside,  opposite  Mercers'  Hall  and  Chapel — 
a  spot  which  had  been  previously  occupied  by  the 
hospital  of  St.  Thomas  de  Aeon.  In  appearance 
it  was  a  long  and  low  stone  building,  battlemented, 
and  enclosing  a  large  leaden  cistern,  the  water  of 
which  issued  from  a  cock  into  a  square  stone  basin  at 
the  eastern  end.  It  is  generally  said  to  have  been 
built  about  the  year  1285,  but  it  is  mentioned  as  the 
Conduit  in  St.  Mary  Colechurch  in  West  Cheape 
in  1 26 1  (Cal.  Charter  Rolls,  ii.  38),  and  again  in  an 
allusion  to  the  fraternity  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr 
**at  the  Conduit  of  London,"  in  1278  (Cal.  Wills, 
i.  29,  70).  The  first  building  of  the  conduit, 
authorised  in  1236,  was  begun  in  1245  (Ann.  Lond., 
44).^  The  pipes  conveying  water  to  the  Great 
Conduit  were,  according  to  Stow,  laid  in  sections 
from  Paddington  to  Cheapside  (the  details  of  the 
route  are  given  in  subsequent  pages  in  the  account 
of  the  Bayswater  Conduit).  In  the  year  1479,  the 
19th  Edward  IV.,  the  Great  Conduit  was  rebuilt 
and  enlarged  by  Thomas  Ham,  one  of  the  sheriffs. 

In  the  14th  year  of  King  Richard  II.  (1390) 
certain  "substantial  men  of  the  Ward  of  Farndone 
(Farringdon)  within,  and  other  citizens  of  London, 
for  the  common  advantage  and  easement  of  the  same, 
at  their  own  costs  and  charges,"  decided  to  build  a 
water-conduit  near  to  the  Church  of  St.  Michael-le- 
Querne  in  the  West  Chepe,  to  be  supplied  by  the 

'  Stow's  "  Survey,"  text  of  1603,  C.  L.  Kingsford  1908,  vol.  ii., 
Notes  p.  331. 

255 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

great  pipe  of  the  conduit  opposite  to  St.  Thomas 
of  Aeon.  I  Permission  to  do  this  was  granted  by 
the  Mayor  and  Aldermen,  provided  that  the  pipes 
should  not  be  injurious  to  the  Great  Conduit  (for 
which  three  citizens  gave  security),  but  if  they 
proved  to  be  harmful,  then  the  said  pipes  should 
be  removed,  &c. 

Half  a  century  later  the  Little  Conduit  was  built. 
Stow  relates  the  circumstances  in  these  words : 
"  At  the  east  end  of  this  Church  (of  St.  Michael-ad- 
Bladum,  or  at  the  Corne  ^ — corruptly  at  the  Quern), 
in  place  of  the  olde  Crosse,  is  now  a  water  conduit 
placed.  William  Eastfield,  Mayor,  the  9th  of 
Henry  VI.  (143 1)  at  the  request  of  divers  Common 
Councels,  granted  it  so  to  be ;  whereupon  in  the 
19th  of  the  same  Henry,  about  the  year  1442,  one 
thousand  marks  was  granted  towards  the  works  of 
this  Conduit,  and  repayring  of  the  other  Conduits  : 
this  is  called  the  little  Conduit  in  West  Cheape  by 
Powles  (Paul's)  gate.'* 

On  part  of  the  site  of  the  Church  of  St.  Michael, 
after  the  Fire  of  London  in  1666,  was  erected  a 
conduit  for  supplying  the  neighbourhood  with  water  ; 
but  being  found  unnecessary,  it  was,  with  others, 
pulled  down  in  1727. 

The  Little  Conduit  by  the  Stocks  Market  was 
built  about  the  year  1500.  Stow  says:  "Some 
distance   west    is    the    Royall    Exchaunge 

^  The  Hospital  of  St.  Thomas  of  Aeon  (or  Acre)  was 
surrendered  the  30th  of  Henry  VHI.  (1539)  and  purchased  by 
the  Mercers  ;  it  was  used  in  Stow's  time  as  a  chapel  and  free 
grammar  school. 

^  So  called  because  there  was  at  one  time  a  corn  market  here, 
stretching  westwards  to  the  Shambles  (Newgate  Street). 

256 


shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

and  so  down  to  the  little  Conduit  ...  by 
the  Stockes  Market,  and  this  is  the  south  side  of 
Three  needle  Street." 


**Come  along  presently  by  the  p — g-Conduit, 
With  two  brave  drums  and  a  Standard  bearer."  ^ 

In  ''Henry  VI.,"  Pt.  2,  Act  IV.  Sc.  vi.,  Cade 
says :  *'  Now  is  Mortimer  lord  of  this  city.  And 
here,  sitting  upon  London-stone,  I  charge  and 
command  that,  of  the  city's  cost,  the  p — g-conduit 
run  nothing  but  claret  wine  this  first  year  of  our 
reign." 

The  appearance  of  the  buildings  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  of  the  Little  Conduit,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  are  represented  in  a  curious  plan  of  the 
western  end  of  West  Cheap,  dated  1585,  a  copy  of 
which  is  in  Wilkinson's  **  Londina  Illustrata"  (1819)  ; 
the  age  of  its  erection  and  decoration,  that  author 
observes,  is  expressed  by  the  royal  supporters  of 
Henry  VI.  and  his  Queen,  Margaret  of  Anjou — the 
antelope  and  eagle  with  the  Tudor  dragon — on  the 
heads  of  the  buttresses.^  The  plan  also  exhibits  the 
direction  of  the  pipes  laid  for  the  supply  of  both  the 
reservoirs  in  West  Cheap,  the  Little  Conduit  being 
probably  also  furnished  from  the  same  springs  at 
Paddington.  The  tower  at  the  north-west  corner  of 
this  building  was  perhaps   Intended   for   raising   the 

'  Middleton,  in  "  A  Chaste  Maid  in  Cheapside,"  Act  III.,  Sc.  ii. 

2  According  to  the  best  authorities,  Henry  VI,  had  for 
supporters  two  antelopes  argent,  There  is  no  mention  of  either 
eagle  or  dragon  among  the  badges  or  cognisances  of  this  king 
and  queen.  The  heraldic  figures  on  the  buttresses  may  have 
been  added  in  a  later  reign, 

257  R 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

water  to  the  height  of  its  original  level,  whence  it  fell 
down  again  into  the  cistern  in  the  larger  building. 
Two  spouts  or  taps  are  shown  from  which  the  water 
could  be  drawn,  and  round  the  base  of  the  structure 
are  represented  several  of  the  ancient  London  water- 
tankards.^  The  Little  Conduit  was  partly  re-erected 
or  preserved,  since  Strype^  says  :  "Where  the  church 
of  St.  Michael-le-Querne  stood  (it  was  burnt  down 
by  the  Great  Fire  and  not  rebuilt)  is  a  Conduit, 
not  yet  finished,  but  designed  for  some  magnificent 
structure."  The  following  further  notice  of  this  build- 
ing appears  in  the  "  Magnae  Britannise  Notitia," 
by  John  Chamberlayne :  3  **The  obelisk  in  Cheapside 
is  a  piece  of  work  designed  and  begun  to  be  erected  by 
the  City  at  the  west  end  of  Cheapside,  where,  before  the 
Fire  of  London  stood  the  Church  of  St.  Michael-le- 
Querne.  It  is  to  be,  if  finished  as  was  intended,  an 
obelisk  upon  a  pedestal,  the  height  to  be  i6o  feet,  and 
made  in  imitation  of  those  formerly  in  Rome."  In 
the  31st  Edition  of  Chamberlayne's  work  (1735)  this 
passage  is  wanting,  which  probably  points  out  the 
time  when  the  idea  of  erecting  any  building  upon  this 
spot  was  finally  abandoned.  Besides  the  two  conduits 
in  West  Cheap  there  was  also  a  third  public  reservoir 
in  the  same  street  called  the  **  Standard,''  the  site  of 
which  was  in  the  centre  of  the  road  opposite  the  end 
of  Honey  Lane.  The  original  object  of  the  Standard 
appears  to  have  been  a  monument  erected  at  the  place 
for   public   executions,  of  which  Stow  gives  several 


'  "  Londina  lUustrata,"  R.  Wilkinson  (18 19),  vol.  i. 
=*  Strype's  '^  Stow's  Survey"  (1720),  vol  i.,  chap.  viii. 
3  29th  Edition,  1728,  Pt.  I.  bk.  iii.  p.  251. 

258 


shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

instances  between  1293  and  146 1.^  In  1430  John 
Wells,  Mayor,  caused  it  to  be  furnished  with  '*a  small 
cistern  of  fresh  water,  having  one  small  cock  continually 
running,  when  the  same  was  not  turned  or  locked." 
His  design  was  finished  by  his  executors,  who 
bought  a  licence  of  Henry  VI.  to  convey  water  to  it. 
The  Standard  of  that  period  was  almost  unquestion- 
ably of  wood,  the  King's  patent,  issued  in  1442,  for 
the  rebuilding  of  it,  with  a  conduit  in  the  same, 
stated  that  it  should  be  strongly  built  of  stone.  Its 
appearance  in  the  seventeenth  century  is  shown  in  the 
picture  representing  the  procession  of  Marie  de'  Medici 
through  Cheapside,  when  she  came  to  visit  her 
daughter,  Henrietta  Maria,  Queen  of  Charles  I.,  in 
1638.2  It  is  possible  that  the  figures  with  which  the 
Standard  is  decorated  were  erected  for  the  occasion, 
since  the  Cross  and  Conduits  of  West  Cheap  were 
always  anciently  utilised  as  stations  for  pageants  3  in 
the  triumphs,  shows,  and  royal  processions,  called 
**  ridings,"  through  the  City.  Hence  we  find  that  of 
the  six  pageants  displayed  in  celebration  of  King 
Henry  V.'s  home-coming  after  Agincourt  (141 5),  two 
were  on  London  Bridge,  one  at  the  conduit  in 
Cornhill,  another  at  the  Great  Conduit  in  Cheap,  a 
fifth  at  Cheap  Cross,  and  the  sixth  at  the  Little 
Conduit.      The   roofs   of  the  conduits,   which    were 

^  Strype's  "  Stow,"  1720,  chap  iii.  35. 

2  From  La  Serres'  "  Entree  Royalle  de  la  Reyne  Mere  du 
Roy  tres  Chrestien  dans  la  Ville  de  Londres,"  1638. 

3  The  original  meaning  of  pageant  has  become  obscured 
through  being  used  to  express  the  play  itself,  whereas  it  was 
really  a  movable  stage  or  platform  on  which  the  play  was 
presented.  The  "  pageants "  consisted  of  buildings  of  timber, 
sometimes  in  imitation  of  brickwork. 

259 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

generally  either  castellated  or  enclosed  by  an  orna- 
mental gallery,  were  usually  filled  with  choristers  or 
minstrels.  John  Lydgate,  who  was  deviser  and  writer 
of  verses  for  Court  and  civic  ceremonies  in  the  first 
half  of  the  fifteenth  century,  and  whose  verses  give 
one  of  the  best  descriptions  of  a  mediaeval  civic  pageant, 
wrote  a  poem  (it  was  really  an  official  programme  in 
verse)  on  the  occasion  of  King  Henry  VI. 's  reception 
in  London,  in  February,  1432,  on  his  return  from 
France.  The  Great  Conduit  is  alluded  to  in  the 
following  extract : — 

"The  King  fforth  rydyng  entryed  into  Chepe  anoon, 
A  lusty  place,  a  place  of  all  delytys, 
Kome  to  the  conduyt,  wher,  as  crystal  stoon, 
The  water  Ranne  like  welles  of  paradys, 
The  holsome  lykour,  ffuU  Riche  and  off  greate  prys, 
Like  to  the  water  of  Archedeclyne,' 
Which  by  miracle  was  turned  into  wyne."  ^ 

Cheapside,  meaning  market-place,  was  in  those 
days  a  large  square,  reaching  back  as  far  as  the 
present  Honey  Lane  and  other  streets  in  a  straight 
line  with  it,  and  with  booth-lined  streets  branching 
away  as  far  as  the  Guildhall  and  Basing  Hall.  All 
through  the  Plantagenet  times,  "  the  golden  age  of 
chivalry,"  the  great  square  of  the  **  Chepe "  was 
the  scene  of  tournaments  and  martial  pageants.  3 

^  Archedeclyne — erroneous  form  of  Architricline,  the  triple 
couch  of  a  banquet-room.     The  "  ruler "  of  a  feast. 

2  "  Chronicles  of  London,'^  edited  by  C.  L.  Kingsford,  1906, 
in  which  the  poem  is  printed  in  extenso. 

3  ''  Mediaeval  London,"  Benham  and  Welch,  1901. 
Numerous  instances  of  these  pageants,   with  references  to 

the  original  authorities,  will  be  found  in  Nichol's  ''Account 
of  Fifty-five  Royal  Processions  and  Entertainments  in  the  City 
of  London  "  (London,  1831,  8vo). 

260 


Shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

Catherine  of  Aragon  s  state  entry  into  London  on 
November  12,  1501,  is  thus  described  in  the  quaint 
language  of  the  time.  Having  listened  to  benedictory 
orations,  delivered  by  two  personages  representing 
St.  Catherine  and  St.  Ursula,  at  London  Bridge, 
**  Dame  Kateryn  rode  fforth  to  ledenhall  corner,  and 
there  turned  down  to  the  Conduyt  in  Cornhill,  where 
was  ordeyned  a  costlew  pagent  w^  a  volvell,  by  the 
which  the  Xij  signes  moved  about  the  zodiak,  and 
the  mone  shewed  her  course  and  dirknesse,"  &c, 

The  conduits  were  sometimes  made  to  subserve 
the  purposes  of  moral  instruction.  When  James  L 
passed  through  the  City  on  his  accession  the  conduits 
were  decked  out  with  verses,  such  as  these,  which 
are  selected  from  a  scarce  and  curious  black-letter 
duodecimo,  printed  in  1607; — 

Upon  the  conduit  in  Cheapside  were  these 
verses  : — 

"  Life  is  a  dross,  a  sparkle,  a  span, 
A  bubble  :    yet  how  proud  is  man  ! " 

Upon  the  conduit  in  Grateous  (Gracechurch) 
Street : — 

**A11  in  this  world's  Exchange  do  meete, 
But  when  death's  burse-bell  rings,  away  ye  fleete." 

Gifts  or  benefactions,  such  as  that  already 
mentioned  of  John  Wells,  who  furnished  a  cistern 
for  the  Standard  in  West  Cheap,  and  of  William 
Eastfield,  who  made  provision  for  the  Paddington 
conduit,  were  not  uncommon ;  they  sometimes 
distinguished  a  term  of  office,  or  were  given  in 
charity.       Posthumous    gifts   were   also   occasionally 

261 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

made.  Stow  notices  a  bequest  by  one  John  Pope, 
citizen  and  barber,  who  by  his  will,  dated  May  ii, 
1437,  gave  for  the  reparation  of  the  Great  Conduit, 
and  the  other  conduits  in  the  City,  his  tenement 
**with  the  appurtenances  which  by  right  descended 
to  him."  Another  benefactor,  William  Love,  be- 
queathed the  sum  of  los.  ''annual  quitrent  charged 
on  tenements  in  Ismongerelane  in  the  parish  of  St. 
Martin  Pomer  (Pomary)  to  the  work  of  the  Conduit 
of  London ;  the  Will  of  the  said  William  being 
enrolled  in  the  Husting  for  Pleas  of  London  held 
on  Monday  after  the  feast  of  the  Purification  (of 
the)  B.M."  (February  2nd),  2nd  Edward  IIL, 
1327-28.^ 

The  Tonne,  or  Tun,^  upon  Cornhill,  Stow  states, 
was  built  in  the  year  1282  by  Henry  Wales  (Wallis), 
Mayor  of  London  in  that  year,  as  a  prison  for  night 
offenders.  In  1401  it  was  "cisterned"  on  being  turned 
into  a  conduit.  Some  years  before  this,  namely,  in 
1378,  a  meeting  of  the  Common  Council  was  held 
at  Guildhall  to  consider  (among  other  matters)  the 
best  means  of  carrying  out  the  repair  of  the  conduit 
in  Chepe,  and  carrying  it  up  to  the  cross-ways  on 
the  top  of  Cornhill,  for  which  purpose  the  executors 
of    Adam    Fraunceys    had    promised    to    contribute 

*  Calendar  of  Wills,  i.,  330. 

*  Thornbury  ("Old  and  New  London,"  ii.  169)  reproduces 
a  view  of  Cornhill  in  1630,  published  by  Boydell,  showing  the 
first  Royal  Exchange  and  a  cylindrical  Gothic  structure  standing 
in  the  middle  of  the  street,  which  is  the  Tun.  It  was  so  called, 
Stow  says,  because  it  was  built  somewhat  in  the  fashion  of  a 
tun,  or  barrel,  standing  on  one  end.  There  is  another  print  of 
the  Tun  in  the  Gardner  Collection,  which  is  reproduced  in 
Besant's  "  Mediaeval  London,"  1906,  p.  355. 

262 


s  ^ 

o  5 

^  .S 

/^  Z 

o  S 

^  ii 

w 


Shallow  Wells,  City  Conduits 

500  marks.  This  seems  to  refer  to  the  fitting 
up  of  the  Cornhill  conduit,  probably  identical  with 
the  Tun. 

In  one  instance — in  the  year  1432 — a  great  con- 
ventual house — *'  Nostre  Dame  d'ordre  de  Charthous" 
— within  the  City  walls,  provided  a  water-supply  of 
its  own.  Two  years  previously — in  1430 — John 
Ferriby  and  his  wife  Margery  enfeoffed  the  Prior 
and  Convent  of  the  Carthusians  of  a  certain  well- 
spring  in  the  meadow  called  Overmead,  in  the  town  of 
Islington  (en  la  vill'  de  Iseldon),  to  make  an  aqueduct 
at  the  rent  service  of  I2d.,  together  with  a  certain 
piece  of  land,  at  a  spot  marked  approximately  in 
later  times  by  a  building  known  as  the  White 
Conduit  House. 


263 


CHAPTER   II 

CONDUITS  WITHOUT  THE   CITY 

The  White  Conduit — Supplied  water  to  the  Carthusian  Friars— 
Fleet  Street — Its  water-supply — Fleet  Street  Standard — 
Cistern  made  to  receive  its  overflow — Thames  water  used 
by  Londoners — Springs  in  Paddington  granted  by  the 
Abbot  of  Westminster  to  the  Mayor  and  citizens  of 
London — Water  from  springs  at  Hackney — Banqueting 
House  on  the  site  of  Stratford  Place,  with  cisterns  in  the 
basement — Lamb's  Conduit — References  to  the  conduits  in 
the  Letter  Books — Keepers  or  wardens  to  look  after  them 
— Measures  taken  to  restrain  keepers  of  brew-houses  and 
others  from  making  ale  with  the  water  from  the  conduits — 
Tynes  and  tankards  used  for  conveying  water — Grants  of 
Quills — The  London  Waterbearers — Their  petition — Water- 
bearers'  Hall — List  of  conduits  removed — The  Standard  in 
Cornhill  a  point  of  measurement  for  distances  from  the 
City — Explanation  of  a  complete  service  on  the  Conduit 
System. 

THE  stone  conduit  from  which  the  house  of 
entertainment — a  kind  of  minor  Vauxhall  for 
the  Londoners  who  went  for  cakes  and  cream  to 
Islington  and  Hornsey — took  its  name  appears,  from 
all  accounts,  to  have  been  an  arched  structure,  built 
with  stone,  brick,  and  flint,  and  cased  with  white 
stone,  from  which  it  received  its  appellation  of  the 
White  Conduit.  A  sculptured  stone  over  the  door 
bore   the   date    1641    and   the   initials   and   arms    of 

264 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

Thomas  Sutton,  who  founded  the  Charterhouse  as  a 
school.  Sutton  was  obviously  only  the  restorer  of 
this  little  edifice,  for  long  antecedent  to  his  time  the 
water  had  flowed  hence  to  supply  the  wants  of  the 
Carthusian  Friars.  The  building  remained  much  in 
the  state  represented  in  a  print  in  the  Gentleman  s 
Magazine  of  May,  1801,  till  about  181 2,  when  it  was 
suffered  to  fall  into  decay,  being  gradually  stripped 
of  its  outer  casing,  and  at  last  it  was  entirely 
destroyed  in  1831,  to  make  way  for  the  completion 
of  some  new  buildings  in  Barnsbury  Road,  as  a  con- 
tinuation of  Penton  Street,  formed  some  five  years 
previously.  The  materials  were  used  to  repair  part 
of  the  New  Road.  Cromwell,  who  also  incorporates 
some  of  Malcolm's  information,  says  ('*  History  of 
Clerkenwell,"  p.  438),  "  The  original  spring  issued  from 
the  ground  at  the  distance  of  43  perches  north  from 
the  Conduit  House,  and  was  conducted  into  the  latter 
by  a  brick  channel,  which  was  discovered  a  few  years 
since  by  the  builders  of  the  houses  since  erected  all 
around.  In  the  conduit  was  a  massy  cistern  with  an 
aperture  at  the  bottom  for  carrying  away  the  waste 
water."     His  remarks  are  referable  to  the  year  1827. 

The  place  where  the  conduit  stood  when  Mr.  T.  E. 
Tomlins  wrote  his  "Perambulation  of  Islington/*  about 
1858,  was  the  back  of  a  house  occupied  as  a  pawn- 
broker's shop — No.  10,  Penton  Street — at  the  corner 
of  Edward  Street.  A  view  of  the  conduit  when  in 
the  last  stage  of  neglect  (1827),  by  Mr.  J.  Fussell,  is 
given  in  Hone's  '*Every-Day  Book"  (vol.  ii.  p.  1202). 

The  water-supply  of  Fleet  Street  was  anciently 
drawn,  in  part  at  least,  from  the  *'holy"  wells  of  St. 
Clement  and  St.  Bridget.     Early  notice  of  the  regular 

265 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

supply  of  this  street  occurs  in  the  City  records^  in  1 388, 
when  the  inhabitants  complained  that  the  pipes  burst 
and  the  water  found  its  way  into  their  houses,  flooding 
their  cellars  and  damaging  their  goods  and  wares. 
They  urged  that  the  pipes  should  be  covered,  and 
licence  was  accordingly  granted  by  the  Mayor  and 
Aldermen  to  build  a  pent-house  {pinaculum)  at  a 
given  point  of  the  aqueduct,  "opposite  to  the  house 
and  tavern  of  John  Walworthe,  vintner,  which  are 
situate  near  to  the  hostel  of  the  Bishop  of  Salisbury."  2 
Walworthe,  John  Rote  (the  Alderman  of  the  Ward), 
and  some  twenty  others  were  the  applicants. 

The  construction  of  the  main  from  Paddington3 
having  been  abandoned  for  six  years  or  more,  the 
executors  of  Sir  William  Eastfield  obtained  licence 
of  the  Mayor  and  Commonalty  in  the  year  1453,  and 
with  the  effects  of  Sir  William  took  the  work  in  hand 
and  completed  it  by  147 1,  together  with  the  conduit 
by  Aldermanbury  Church,  not  far  distant  from  his 
dwelling-house.  With  the  same  powers  his  executors 
also  conveyed  water  to  Cripplegate. 

The  Fleet  Street  Standard  stood  a  little  to  the  west 
of  Shoe  Lane.  Over  the  cistern  Stow  describes  a 
stone  tower,  ornamented  with  **  images  of  St.  Chris- 
topher on  the  top  and  angels  round  about,  with  sweet- 
sounding  bells,  which  hourly  with  hammers  chymed 
such  an  hymn  as  was  appointed."     To  receive  the 

'  Letter  Book  H,  p.  326. 

"  The  Inn  or  London  House  of  the  Bishops  of  Salisbury 
stood  on  the  site  of  Salisbury  Court,  on  the  south  side  of  Fleet 
Street. 

3  Portions  of  the  pipes  were  dug  up  in  Fleet  Street  in  1743, 
and  by  St.  Clement's  Church  in  1765. 

266 


Conduits   Without  the  City 

overflow  of  the  Standard  a  cistern  was  made  at  Fleet 
Bridge  in  1478  "by  the  men  of  Fleet  Streete,"  but 
Stow  adds :  "  The  watercourse  is  decayed  and  not 
restored."  ^  The  Standard  was  rebuilt,  with  a  larger 
cistern,  at  the  City's  expense  in  the  year  1582  ;  it  was 
destroyed  in  the  Great  Fire. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  Londoners  had  only 
the  conduits  on  which  to  depend  ;  the  river  Thames 
was  also  freely  drawn  upon  :  the  water-carriers,  besides 
filling  their  tankards  from  the  conduits,  used  the  river- 
water  to  supply  the  houses  of  citizens  for  a  small  re- 
muneration. The  carts  also  conveyed  water  in  still 
greater  quantities  from  the  Thames.  In  the  City 
ordinances  made  after  the  year  1275,  but  probably 
before  the  Great  Conduit  in  Cheapside  was  opened, 2 
there  is  a  regulation  that  for  carts  taking  water  from 
Dowgate  or  Castle  Baynard  to  Cheap  the  charge 
should  be  three  halfpence ;  if  they  went  beyond 
Cheap  two  pence  ;  if  they  stopped  short  of  Cheap 
one  penny  farthing  (Liber  Albus,  1.  p.  730).  In 
one  year — 1325-26 — it  is  recorded  in  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  Chronicles  of  London  (p.  261)  that,  **for  want 

'  For  surreptitiously  tapping  the  conduit  where  it  passed 
his  door,  and  conveying  the  water  into  a  private  well,  thereby 
causing  a  lack  of  v^rater  to  his  fellow-citizens,  civic  records  relate 
that  William  Campion,  of  Fleet  Street,  was  in  1478  sentenced 
to  imprisonment,  and  was  further  punished  in  the  following 
mediaeval  fashion  :  Being  set  upon  a  horse,  a  vessel  like  unto  a 
conduit  was  placed  upon  his  head  and  kept  filled  with  water, 
which  ran  down  his  person  from  small  holes  made  for  the 
purpose,  keeping  him  continually  drenched.  In  this  condition 
he  was  taken  round  to  the  City  conduits,  where  his  offence  was 
proclaimed,  as  a  warning  to  other  citizens. 

»  The  conduit  is  mentioned  in  Letter  Book  B,  6th  Edward  I. 
(1277-78). 

267 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

of  fresh  water,  the  tide  from  the  sea  prevailed  to  such 
a  degree  that  the  water  of  the  Thames  was  salt ;  so 
much  so  that  many  folk  complained  of  the  ale  being 
salt."  Unless  care  were  taken  to  take  water  from 
the  river  at  certain  periods  of  the  ebb  tide,  and  some 
distance  from  the  bank,  a  similar  complaint  might 
have  been  justly  made  at  any  time.  But  the  ever- 
recurring  trouble  which  had  to  be  contended  with 
was  the  pollution  of  the  Thames  from  accumulations 
of  filth  on  the  river-bank.  This  was  the  subject  in 
1357  of  2L  peremptory  letter  to  the  Mayor  and  Sheriffs 
from  the  King  (Edward  III.).  Various  civic  ordi- 
nances and  enactments  in  Parliament  tend  to  destroy 
one  s  faith  in  the  general  purity  of  the  river  and  its 
fitness  for  drinking.  There  were  penalties  for  casting 
refuse  from  stables  and  slaughter-houses  into  it,  the 
Thames  water  at  Dowgate  Dock  becoming  at  this 
time  so  corrupted  by  filth  thrown  there  that  the 
water-carriers  accustomed  to  fill  their  tankards  from 
this  dock  "were  no  longer  able  to  serve  the  Com- 
monalty, to  their  great  loss."  Orders  were  therefore 
given  for  cleansing  the  dock  (Letter  Book  F,  19th 
Edward  III.,  1345). 

In  the  fifteenth  century  there  is  further  evidence 
that  the  water-supply  of  London  was  a  subject  of 
concern  to  the  Corporation.  On  March  11,  1439, 
Richard,  Abbot  of  Westminster,  granted  to  Robert 
Large,  ^  the  Mayor,  and  citizens  of  London,  and  their 
successors,  one  head  of  water,  together  with  certain 
springs  to  the  north  and  west  of  the  same  head, 
within    a    length    of  26  perches,  and    a    breadth  of 

*  A  mercer,  who  will  always  be  remembered  as  the  master 
to  whom  Caxton  served  his  apprenticeship. 

268 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

I  perch,  in  a  certain  close  called  Oxlese,  within  the 
manor  of  Paddington,  in  consideration  of  the  City 
paying  annually  to  the  said  Abbot  and  his  successors, 
at  the  feast  of  St.  Peter  ad  Vincula,  two  peppercorns. 
This  grant  was  confirmed  by  Henry  VI.  in  the  year 
1442,  and  likewise  a  writ  of  Privy  Seal  issued  allowing 
the  citizens  power  to  impress  the  necessary  labour  and 
to  purchase  200  fodders  (a  fodder  of  lead  being  about 
a  ton)  of  lead  for  the  intended  pipes  or  conduits.  In 
the  next  century  additional  conduits  were  constructed 
by  the  Corporation  in  different  parts  of  London  :  the 
conduit  at  Bishopsgate,  built  about  the  year  1513  ; 
that  at  London  Wall,  against  Coleman  Street,  about 
1528.  Without  Aldgate,  long  known  for  its  pure 
water,  a  conduit  was  built  in  1535  by  means  of  a 
grant  of  money  from  the  Common  Council :  the 
source  consisted  of  two  heads,  situated  in  fields  near 
Dalston,  whence  it  was  conveyed  by  pipes  laid  in  the 
ground  at  depths  varying  from  8  to  18  feet,  till  they 
terminated  at  the  Conduit. 

In  1543  the  municipal  authorities  obtained  statutory 
powers  to  repair  damaged  Conduits  and  erect  new 
ones,  as  well  as  to  bring  water  to  the  City  from 
Hampstead  (Stat.  35  Henry  VIII.  c.  10).  This  was 
London's  first  Water  Act.^  It  was  entitled  an  Act 
**  Concernynge  the  repayringe,  making  and  amend- 
ynge  of  the  Condytes  in  London."  But  the  water 
yielded  from  the  above  and  other  sources,  old  and 
new,  proved  inadequate,  for  such  was  the  insanitary 
condition  of  the  City  that  the  water  problem  was 
taken    seriously  in    hand    by   the    Common   Council 

^  The  city  of  Gloucester  obtained  its  Water  Act  two  years 
earlier. 

269 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

towards  the  close  of  the  year  1545,  when  Sir  Martin 
Bowes  entered  upon  his  mayoralty.  A  tax  of  two- 
fifteenths  was  imposed  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the 
City  for  conveying  water  from  certain  *'  lively 
sprynges'*  recently  discovered  at  Hackney.  In  fact, 
the  City  authorities  appear  from  that  time  to  have 
taken  more  active  interest  in  water-supply.  Accord- 
ing to  Stow,  it  was  their  custom  to  pay  annual  visits 
of  inspection  to  the  various  Conduit-heads,  and  on  an 
occasion,  cited  by  him,  in  1562,  the  Mayor  (Harpur), 
Aldermen,  and  many  "  worshipful  persons "  of  the 
twelve  livery  Companies,  rode  on  horseback  to  the 
Conduit-head  at  Marybone  with  great  formality  and 
parade,  their  wives  making  the  journey  in  wagons. 
Here,  after  inspecting  the  reservoirs,  they  were  en- 
tertained with  good  cheer  by  the  City  Chamberlain 
in  a  banqueting-house  erected  on  the  site  of  Stratford 
Place '  for  their  convenience,  after  which  they  hunted 
a  fox  in  the  neighbouring  woodlands.  The  old  cis- 
terns, which  were  in  the  basement  beneath  the 
Banqueting  House,  being  no  longer  wanted,  were,  in 
1737,  arched  over  and  abandoned.  The  house  itself 
was  pulled  down  and  its  site  let  on  lease. 

Notwithstanding  the  official  recognition  shown 
by  these  formal  visits,  the  efforts  of  private  individuals 
in  attempts  to  improve  the  City's  water-supply  were 
by  no  means  discouraged.  The  scheme  of  William 
Lamb  entitles  him  to  particular  notice.  He  is  usually 
described  as   a  gentleman  of  the   Chapel    Royal  to 

^  In  August,  1875,  while  making  repairs  or  alterations  in  the 
roadway  of  Oxford  Street  at  this  point  the  workmen  came  upon 
the  reservoirs  and  arches  under  the  Banqueting  House,  which 
had  remained  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation, 

270 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

Henry  VIII. ;  he  was  also  a  freeman  of  the  Cloth- 
workers'  Company.  Among  many  other  benefactions 
he  generously  undertook  the  charge  of  bringing  water 
collected  from  several  springs  in  leaden  pipes  a 
distance  of  about  2,000  yards  to  Snow  Hill,  where, 
in  1577,  he  rebuilt  a  conduit,  standing  a  little  below 
the  Church  of  St.  Sepulchre — at  Oldbourne  Crosse 
(Stow) — which  had  long  been  in  a  ruinous  state,  and 
disused,  at  a  cost  of  ;^  1,500.  This  conduit  was 
again  rebuilt  in  1667  from  a  design  by  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  consisting  of  a  stone  building  of  four  sides, 
with  four  columns,  over  which  was  a  pediment, 
surmounted  by  a  pyramid,  on  which  stood  a  lamb — 
a  rebus  on  the  name  of  Lamb. 

The  public-house  known  by  the  sign  of  the  **  Lamb" 
at  the  north-east  end  of  Lambs  Conduit  Street 
is  distinguished  by  the  appropriate  effigy  of  a  lamb 
cut  in  stone,  which  the  writer  of  an  article  in  the 
Illustrated  London  News  of  November  22,  1851, 
concluded  to  be  no  other  than  the  one  which  stood 
upon  the  conduit.  The  same  writer  discovered  in 
the  yard  of  the  public-house  a  trap-door  in  the  pave- 
ment, which  on  being  lifted  led  by  a  short  flight 
of  steps  into  a  brick  vault,  where  was  to  be  seen 
the  wooden  cover  of  the  well  and  beneath  it  the  well 
itself.  The  "New  View  of  London"  (1707),  com- 
piled, it  is  believed,  by  Hatton,  describes  the  fountain- 
head  of  Lamb's  Conduit  as  being  in  the  vacant 
ground  a  little  to  the  east  of  Ormond  Street. 

The  conduit  was  taken  down  in  1746.  A  pump, 
which  was  reputed  to  be  erected  on  the  Conduit-head, 
probably  in  the  year  just  mentioned,  stood  against 
the  corner  house  of  a  small  turning  leading  out  of 

271 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Lamb's  Conduit  Street,  "  on  the  right-hand  side 
as  you  go  towards  the  Foundling,  known  as  Long 
Yard."  Carved  on  the  gable  of  one  of  the  houses 
was  the  inscription  :  **  Lamb's  Conduit,  the  property 
of  the  City  of  London.  This  pump  is  erected  for  the 
benefit  of  the  public."  ^  The  date  became  obliterated. 
A  charge  was  always  made  for  water  supplied  by 
conduits  when  used  for  trade  purposes.  In  the 
**  Letter  Books  "  are  many  references  to  the  conduits, 
and  particularly  to  their  management.  It  appears 
from  these  that  Keepers  or  Wardens  were  appointed 
to  look  after  them.  Such  officers  were,  after  being 
duly  elected,  admitted  and  sworn  in  the  presence 
of  the  Mayor  of  London  and  the  Aldermen,  to 
faithfully  collect  the  money  left  to,  or  acquired  by, 
the  conduit,  and  to  render  true  account  thereof  when 
called  upon.  The  custodian  had  also  to  receive  the 
money  assessed  upon  traders,  such  as  brewers, 
pastelars  (cooks),  and  fishmongers  ;  to  see  that  the 
water  was  not  wasted,  and  to  take  no  fees  or 
gratuities,  or  sell  water  for  private  profit,  on  pain 
of  losing  his  freedom.  The  guardianship  thus 
created  was  evidently  very  necessary  in  the  interests 
of  the  consumer.  In  the  Liber  Albus  there  are 
several  entries  between  the  years  1309  and  13 16 
and   subsequently,    showing    that    the   City   brewers 

^  Notes  and  Queries,  April,  1857,  2nd  Series.  In  October, 
1905,  while  cutting  a  cross-trench  in  connection  with  the  work 
of  the  electrification  of  the  tramway  lines  in  Theobald's 
Road,  the  workmen  came  upon  a  length  of  about  12  feet  of 
an  old  wooden  water-conduit  in  excellent  preservation.  It 
was  thought  to  be  probably  a  part  of  Lamb's  Conduit.  The 
pipes  had  been  made  out  of  tree-trunks  with  a  bore  of  about 
9  inches.     (The  Standard^  October,  1905.) 

272 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

took  so  much  water  from  the  Great  Conduit  that  the 
supply  of  their  fellow-citizens  ran  short.  As  a  con- 
sequence of  this  a  "plaint"  was  made  in  the  nth 
year  of  Edward  III.  (1337)  in  the  Hustings  Court 
by  certain  persons  living  near  the  Conduit,  that 
**  men  who  keep  brew-houses  in  the  streets  and  lanes 
near  the  Conduit,  send  day  after  day  and  night  after 
night,  their  brewers  with  their  tynes,  and  make  the 
ale  which  they  sell  with  the  water  thereof."  In  the 
year  1345  the  Mayor  and  Alderman  agreed,  the 
Commonalty  assenting,  that  such  brewers  should  in 
future  no  longer  presume  to  brew  or  make  malt  with 
water  from  the  conduit,  on  pain  of  losing  the  tankard 
or  tyne  with  which  he  shall  have  carried  water  from 
the  conduit,  and  4od.  the  first  time  ;  the  tankard  or 
tyne  and  half  a  mark  the  second  time ;  and  the  third 
time  the  tankard  or  tyne  and  los. 

The  means  of  obtaining  water  from  the  conduits 
consisted  either  in  employing  water-carriers,  called 
in  those  days  "cobs,"^  to  bring  it,  or  in  sending 
servants  to  fetch  it ;  the  latter  could,  of  course,  only 
be  done  by  the  wealthier  citizens.  The  tyne,  or 
vessel  for  holding  the  water,  was  a  wooden  tub 
formed  in  the  ordinary  way  with  staves  and  hoops  ; 
the  tankard  contained  about  three  gallons  and  was 
shaped  like  a  cone ;  it  had  a  small  iron  handle  at  the 
upper  (narrow)  end,  and,  being  fitted  with  a  bung  or 
stopple,  was  easily  carried   on   the   shoulders.     In  a 

'  Oliver  Cob,  the  water-bearer,  is  one  of  the  characters  in 
Ben  Jonson's  play,  "  Every  Man  in  His  Humour  "  (1598),  and 
the  sort  of  coarse  repartee  he  indulged  in  may  be  taken  as  a 
fair  sample  of  that  used  at  the  London  conduits.  The  water- 
carriers  resided  chiefly  in  Cob's  Court,  Broadway,  Blackfriars, 
and  this  is  probably  how  they  came  to  be  called  "  cobs." 

273  S 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

rare  print  executed  in  the  reign  of  James  I.  and 
preserved  in  the  British  Museum,  reproduced  by 
J.  T.  Smith  in  "  Cries  of  London  "  (1839),  the  water- 
carrier  is  shown  bearing  the  tankard  upon  his 
shoulder.  He  wears  the  dress  of  Henry  VHI.'s 
time,  and  to  keep  him  dry  coarse  aprons  hang  from 
his  neck,  one  in  front  and  one  behind.  In  Tempest's 
"  Cryes  of  London"  (171 1)  is  an  engraving  of  a 
water-bearer,  with  the  words  *'  New  River  Water " 
inscribed  beneath  the  picture.  He  carries  two  tubs 
or  tynes  suspended  from  a  yoke  on  his  shoulders. 
Besides  being  carried  by  hand,  the  water  was  also 
conveyed  by  barrow  and  by  cart.  As  the  supply 
of  water  grew  scarce  through  the  laying  down  of 
pipes  or  **  quills  '*  of  water  to  private  dwellings,  there 
were  frequent  disputes  among  the  cobs  for  precedence 
in  filling  their  vessels,  and  the  Mayor  forbade  them 
to  take  clubs  and  staves,  with  which  they  would 
sometimes  belabour  each  other.  A  curious  print — 
published  about  the  time  of  Elizabeth — is  a  satire 
on  this  custom  ;  it  is  entitled  *'  Tittle  Tattle,"  and 
tells  in  homely  couplets  how — 

"At  the  conduit  striving  for  their  turn 
The  quarrel  it  grows  great, 
That  up  in  arms  they  are  at  last, 
And  one  another  beat.'' 

While  the  citizens  generally  obtained  water  from 
these  public  fountains,  some  noblemen  and  other 
persons  having  mansions  in  the  City  or  near  the 
course  of  the  conduit  from  Tyburn  obtained  leave 
to  lay  a  small  pipe  or  "  quill  "  (probably,  as  the  name 
implies,   not  exceeding    a    goose-qaill    in    diameter) 

274 


I 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

connecting  the  conduit  with  their  mansions  or 
grounds.  An  instance  of  this  occurs  in  1582,  when 
the  Marquis  of  Winchester  applied  to  the  Mayor  for 
leave  to  substitute  a  brick  vault  for  the  passage  of 
water  in  place  of  the  old  pipes,  which  had  decayed. 
Other  similar  applications  were  made  :  in  1592  by 
Lord  Cobham,  for  a  quill  of  water  from  the  conduit 
at  Ludgate  for  use  in  **  his  house  within  the  Black- 
friars";  in  1 60 1  by  Lady  Essex  and  Lady  Walsing- 
ham  for  "a  continuance  of  the  pipe  of  water  formerly 
granted  to  the  Lord  Admiral  for  use  in  Essex 
house";  and  in  16 13  by  Lord  Fenton  for  his  house 
near  Charing  Cross.  The  last  records  of  these  appli- 
cations to  tap  the  City  Conduits  are  of  1662-64. 

As  grants  of  "  quills  "  conferred  privileges  which 
brought  no  revenue  to  the  Corporation,  while  the 
common  stock  of  water  was  diminished,  popular 
murmurs  against  the  practice  arose,  the  cause  being 
taken  up  by  the  Company  of  Water-Tankard- Bearers. 
Following  the  example  of  the  other  crafts  that 
flourished  in  the  Middle  Ages,  the  water-carriers  of 
London,  a  numerous  body  of  men,  formed  themselves 
into  a  guild  or  fraternity.  Their  rules  and  ordinances 
are  dated  October  20,  1496,  the  12th  of  Henry  VI L, 
and  purport  to  have  been  framed  by  **the  Wardens 
and  the  whole  fellowship  of  the  brotherhood  of  St. 
Christopher  of  the  Waterbearers,  founded  within 
the  Augustin  Friars."  A  curious  petition,^  bearing 
no  date,  but,  judging  from  the  writing  and  spelling, 
probably  drawn  up  about  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
or   the   beginning  of  the   seventeenth   century,  was 

^  Mr.  Clifford  gives  it  without  abridgment,  *'A  History  of 
Private  Bill  Legislation,"  vol.  ii.,  1887,  pp.  59-61. 

275 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

presented  to  the  House  of  Commons  from  **  the 
whole  Company  of  the  poore  Water-Tankard- Bearers 
of  the  Cittie  of  London,  and  the  suburbs  thereof,  they 
and  their  families  being  4,000  In  number,"  &c.  Their 
grievances  are  set  forth  at  considerable  length  in 
the  petition,  which  begins  by  referring  to  an  Act 
of  Parliament  of  35th  Henry  VHI.  (1543)  concerning 
the  making  and  repairing  of  the  conduits  of  London, 
with  a  proviso  that  it  should  not  be  lawful  for  any 
person  to  undermine,  minish,  withdraw,  or  abate 
any  spring  from  its  "  dew "  course  and  conveyance 
to  the  conduits  in  London.  Yet,  the  petition  goes 
on  to  declare,  that  "  notwithstanding  the  said  Act, 
most  of  the  water  is  taken,  and  kept  from  the  said 
Conduits  In  London  by  many  private  branches  and 
cockes,  and  laid  into  private  dwellings,  being  suffered 
also  to  runne  at  waste,  to  the  general  grievance  of 
citizens,  and  all  others  repairing  to  the  same,  having 
their  meat  dressed  with  other  waters,  neither  so  pure 
nor  holsome  as  the  Conduit  water  is."  The  City's 
Plumber,  one  Randoll,  seems  to  have  been  a  delin- 
quent, confessing  to  having  laid  fifteen  branches  or 
cocks  into  private  houses,  and  drawn  from  the 
conduits.  Various  other  cases  of  illegal  abstraction 
of  water  are  cited  in  the  petition  ;  the  supply  of 
water  to  Cornhill,  Aldermanbury,  and  Gracechurch 
Street  Conduits  being  either  wholly  stopped  or 
given  to  private  houses  by  the  way.  The  effect 
of  these  irregularities  was  to  deprive  the  water- 
carriers  of  much  of  their  legitimate  employment,  so 
that  their  complaints  were  well  founded. 

The  petition,  in  quaintly  worded  phrases,  takes  one, 
as   it   were,    behind   the   scenes,  showing,    from    the 

276 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

workman's  point  of  view  at  least,  how  the  City  was 
served  by  a  body  of  men  who  followed  a  calling 
which,  like  others,  was  not  without  its  grievances. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  know  what  was  the  result 
of  the  petition,  whether  it  effected  its  object,  or,  like 
others  of  its  kind,  was  consigned  to  the  limbo  of 
unredressed  wrongs. 

In  a  list  dated  February  8,  1582,  of  deeds,  &c., 
belonging  to  the  parish  of  St.  Michael's,  Cornhill, 
appear  several  notices  of  Waterbearers'  Hall  (now 
Numbers  143  and  144,  Bishopsgate  Street  Without, 
between  Lamb  Alley  and  Angel  Alley).  Extracts 
from  the  Minute  Book  of  the  vestry  of  St.  Michael's 
(1563  to  1697)  show  that  the  Brotherhood  of  Water- 
bearers  existed  at  least  seventy-two  years  after  their 
rules  were  certified  by  the  ecclesiastical  authority — 
that  is  to  say,  until  1568,  in  which  year  a  certain 
Robert  Donkin,  Citizen  and  Merchant  Taylor  of 
London,  purchased  his  house  of  the  Company  of 
Waterbearers.  The  filing  of  their  petition  not  long 
after  James  I.  came  to  the  throne  proves  that  they 
were  in  existence  for  at  least  another  half-century, 
but  how  much  longer  remains  to  be  ascertained. 

With  reference  to  the  state  of  the  conduits  in 
general  about  this  time,  Richard  Blome,  writing 
circa  1673,  says  :  "The  greater  part  of  them  do  still 
continue  where  first  erected,  but  some,  by  reason  of 
the  great  quantity  of  ground  they  took  up,  standing  in 
the  midst  of  the  City,  were  a  great  hindrance,  not 
only  to  foot-passengers,  but  to  porters,  coaches,  and 
cars ;  and  were  therefore  taken  down  and  removed 
to  places  more  convenient ;  so  that  the  water  was 
the    same.     The    Conduits    taken   away    with   their 

277 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

cisterns  are :  the  Great  Conduit  at  the  east  end  of 
Cheapside  ;  the  Conduit  called  the  Tun  in  Cornhill  ; 
the  Standard  in    Cheapside;    the    Little  Conduit  at 
the  west  end   of  Cheapside;    the  Conduit  in   Fleet 
Street;  the  Conduit  in  Grass-Church  Street  (built  in 
accordance  with  the  will  of  Thomas   Hill,  who  was 
Mayor  in  1484);   the  Conduit  without  Aldgate,  and 
the  Conduit  at  Dowgate."    The  conduit  at  the  Stocks 
Market,  after  its   re-erection,  appears  to  have  been 
celebrated   principally   as   being  near  the  equestrian 
statue     of    Charles    II. ;    set    up    in    1672    by    Sir 
Robert    Vyner,    the    convivial    Mayor    who    pulled 
the  King  back  to  the  table  to  "take  t'other  bottle." 
Market  and  statue  were  both  removed  for  the  present 
Mansion    House   in   1739.     The  Standard  in  Corn- 
hill,  ^  built  in  1581-82,  existed  only  for  a  few  years 
after  the  Great  Fire.     For  some   time  previously  it 
was  in  an  imperfect  state,  being  sometimes  dry  and 
at  other  times  overflowing;  for  which  last  condition 
it   was   frequently  presented   as   a   nuisance   by   the 
Inquest  of  Cornhill  Ward,  under  the  names  of  "the 
Carrefour  "2  (or  Quarrefour),  and  the  "  Foure  Spowts." 
It  received  the  first  of  these  names  from  its  position 
at  the  intersection  of  Gracechurch  Street,  Cornhill, 

'  An  engraving  of  this,  dated  1814,  is  in  Wilkinson's  "  Londina 
Illustrata."  There  was  a  Standard  in  Cornhill  as  early  as  the 
2nd  Henry  V.  (1415).  ("  Chronicle  of  London,"  edited  by  Sir 
N.  H.  Nicholas,  1827,  p.  99.) 

2  At  Aubervilliers  (Seine),  where,  at  the  meeting  of  four  cross- 
roads, many  crimes  have  been  committed,  the  spot  is  popularly 
called  the  **  Carrefour  du  Crime."  "  The  Carfukes  of  Leaden- 
halle "  is  mentioned  in  a  proclamation  made  at  the  Leaden 
Hall  for  men  of  the  poultry  trade,  in  the  49th  Edward  HL 
(1375)  (Riley,  '*  Memorials,  p.  389).  The  Carfukes  of  the 
Leaden  Hall  was  best  known  as  the  Standard  in  Cornhill. 

278 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

Bishopsgate  Street,  and  Leadenhall  Street.  The 
other  name  was  given  to  it  because  of  four  spouts 
which  were  directed  as  many  different  ways,  for  the 
use  of  the  inhabitants  living  near  it,  and  also  for 
cleansing  the  channels  of  the  streets  diverging  from 
it,  namely,  north  towards  Bishopsgate,  east  towards 
Aldgate,  south  towards  the  bridge,  and  west  towards 
the  Stocks  Market.  On  account  of  the  inconvenience 
of  its  situation,  this  conduit  was  one  of  those  which 
was  not  rebuilt,  and  the  last  notice  of  it  is  probably 
the  following  entry  contained  in  an  official  manuscript 
record  of  the  expenses  of  erecting  public  buildings 
in  London  after  the  Great  Fire,  preserved  in  the 
Guildhall  Library:  '' 1671,  July  10,  Paid  Nicholas 
Duncome  for  taking  down  the  Conduit  in  Cornhill, 

&C.,     ;^I5     lOS." 

That  the  City  conduits  were  not  entirely  destroyed 
by  the  Great  Fire  we  have  the  assurance  of  a 
contemporary  writer — Dr.  Samuel  Rolles — in  his 
**  Relation  of  the  late  Dreadful  Fire  of  London  in 
the  year  1666"  (Meditation  XL.,  **  Spoiling  of  the 
City  Conduits,"  London,  1667),  and  he  is  borne 
out,  as  regards  one  of  them,  by  Evelyn,  who  records 
in  his  Diary,  September  7,  1666,  only  five  days  after 
the  outbreak,  when  the  ashes  were  so  hot  as  to  burn 
the  soles  of  his  shoes,  that  the  Standard  in  Cornhill 
**  continued  with  but  little  detriment."  But  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  conduits  suffered  severely,  par- 
ticularly the  leaden  pipes  and  cisterns. 

The  Standard  was  long  in  use  as  a  point  of 
measurement  for  distances  from  the  City,  and  several 
suburban  milestones  are  still  inscribed  with  so  many 
miles  from  the  Standard  in  Cornhill — e.g.,  on  the  south 

279 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

side  of  Barnes  Common,  in  the  Upper  Richmond 
Road,  is  one  marked  "IX.  miles  from  the  Standard 
in  CornhilL"! 

After  serving  their  purpose  for  more  than  five 
hundred  years  the  conduits  by  about  the  middle  oi 
the  eighteenth  century  had  ceased  to  be  used  in 
London.  In  a  few  provincial  towns  they  are  still 
in  use  ;  at  Wells,  Somerset,  the  waterworks  of  Bishop 
Beckington  continue  to  supply  the  city.  The  springs 
rise  in  the  garden  of  the  Bishop's  palace,  in  which 
stands  the  little  fifteenth-century  structure,  where 
the  waters  are  gathered,  and  whence  they  are  con 
veyed  in  leaden  pipes  to  a  conduit-house  in  the 
market-place.  An  arrangement  of  a  similar  kind, 
though  more  modern,  exists  at  Cambridge,  where 
the  quaint  Jacobean  structure  called  Hobson's  Con- 
duit now  stands  at  the  entrance  to  the  town  from 
the  Trumpington  road,  having  been  removed  from 
the  market-place  in  1856.2  Another  conduit-house 
is  mentioned  by  Parker  as  having  been  "erected 
in  Oxford  by  Otho  Nicholson  so  late  as  the  time  of 
James  I.,  and  water  to  supply  it  was  conveyed  by 
pipes  from  Hincksey  Hill,  a  distance  of  about  two 
miles,  where  the  small  building  for  the  conduit-head 
still  remains  (1859).  The  conduit  itself  was  removed 
about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  from  its 
original  position  at  Carfax,  where  four  streets  meet, 

'  A  correspondent  writes  to  the  City  PresSj  October  23,  1909, 
that  upon  a  stone  let  into  the  wall  of  an  old  house  in  Lewes 
(Sussex)  the  following  inscription  appears :  "  50  miles  from  the 
Standard  in  Cornhill  ;  49  to  Westminster  Bridge  ;  8  miles  to 
Brighthelmstone  "  (Brighton). 

2  Philip  Norman,  on  "An  Ancient  Conduit-head  in  Queen 
Square,  Bloomsbury,"  Archceologia^  v.  56,  Pt.  2. 

280 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

and  where  it  must  have  been  a  considerable  obstruc- 
tion to  the  traffic."  ^ 

For  the  sake  of  clearness  it  may  be  useful  to  explain 
that  a  complete  service  on  the  conduit  or  aqueduct 
system  was  carried  out  somewhat  on  this  wise  :  The 
conduit-head  was  placed  as  near  as  possible  to,  if  not 
actually  over,  the  natural  spring  or  springs  forming  the 
source  of  supply.  Into  this  "  Receipt-house,"  as  it  used 
to  be  called,  the  water  was  led,  filling  a  cistern  or  tank 
in  the  building,  and  passing  on  into  the  pipes  in  its 
course  to  the  distributing  base,  which  might  be  from 
one  to  three  or  more  miles  distant.  Here  the  water 
was  stored  in  a  receptacle  of  greater  capacity,  and 
drawn  from  cocks  or  taps,  as  it  was  required.  No 
mechanical  contrivance  was  used  either  to  raise  the 
water  into  the  cistern  or  to  accelerate  its  passage 
through  the  pipes.  All  depended  upon  the  very  slight 
downward  gradient  necessary  to  ensure  a  steady  flow 
of  water ;  and  indeed  this  fundamental  principle  of 
gravitation  was  the  only  known  method  of  water 
conveyance  in  the  Middle  Ages. 

It  would  appear  that  there  is  no  record  existing  of 
the  quantity  of  water  which  the  old  London  reservoirs 
were  capable  of  holding.  This  is  regrettable,  as  it 
would  be  of  some  interest  to  know,  for  instance,  what 
was  the  storage  capacity  of  the  great  Cheapside 
Conduit,  to  which  such  frequent  allusion  is  made  in 
civic  records.  Stow,  who  gives  a  long  list  of  the  City 
conduits,  omits  any  mention  of  the  point,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  nor  do  any  of  the  later  historians 
touch  upon  it. 

*  "  Some  Account  of  Domestic  Architecture  in  England,"  by, 
T.  Hudson  Turner  and  J.  H.  Parker,  vol.  iii.,  1859. 

281 


CHAPTER     III 

CONDUITS    WITHOUT    THE    CITY  (continued)— 
LONDON    BRIDGE  WATERWORKS 

Bayswater  or  "  Roundhead  "  Conduit — ^Its  position  and  course 
indicated — Remarks  by  Matthews  in  "  Hydraulia  " — Mr. 
Morley  Davies  on  the  "  Roundhead  " — Paddington  Conduit 
System  transferred  from  the  City  to  the  Bishop  of  London 
and  Trustees  of  Paddington  Estate — Ancient  conduit  in 
Queen  Square,  Bloomsbury — Identification  of  the  White 
Conduit — Conduit  near  Hyde  Park  Corner — Conduit-house 
in  Greenwich  Park — Underground  passages  in  the  Park  ; 
their  elaborate  construction — Wooden  water-pipes — Use  of 
tree-trunks  for  water-pipes  abroad — Morice  and  his  London 
Bridge  Waterworks — The  engine  described — Other  schemes 
for  supplying  London  with  water. 

THE  Bayswater  or  "Roundhead"  Conduit,  the 
earliest  Conduit-head,  may  be  taken  as  a  type 
of  its  kind.  It  is  mentioned  by  name  as  early  as  1634, 
in  a  petition  of  the  Corporation  to  the  Privy  Council.^ 
It  is  there  called  the  "Roundhead  near  Tyburn,"  and  in 
a  reply  from  the  Council 2  **  the  Round  Head  in  Oxelees 
near  Paddington."  An  essay  in  the  Gentleman  s 
Magazine  for  April,  1 798,  gives  a  minute  description  of 
it — as  a  building — but  what  the  essayist  says  as  to  its 
the    fields,    nearly    equidistant    from 

'  ''  Remembrancia  "  Index,  p.  559,  vii.  iii. 
*  Ibid.,  vi.  116. 

282 


.^^..-*%5--'^ 


■Mm 


,1.  S.  Foonl  fail. 


BAYSWATER  CONDUIT. 
From  the  engraving  of  1798  in  the  Guildhall  Library. 


To  face  p.  282, 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

Paddington  Church  and  the  tea  gardens,  which  were 
formerly   the   botanic   gardens  of  Sir  John   Hill  " — 
conveys  no  very  clear  idea  on  that  point.     Of  the 
building  and  its  surroundings  several  views  are  extant, 
drawn  with  more  or  less  fidelity  to  the  original,  if  the 
most  careful  drawing — that  of  1798^ — be  accepted  as  a 
guide.     Matthews  has  a  lithograph  plate  of  it  in  his 
**  Hydraulia."     Another  view  of  it  is  preserved  in  the 
Grace  Collection,  two  are  in  the  Guildhall  Library,  and 
no  less   than   four  in   the  Gardner  Collection.     The 
dates  of  these  extend  between  the  years    1796  and 
1820,  and  they  all  represent  a  circular  building  with  a 
conical   roof  surmounted   by   a  ball.     The  walls  are 
built  of  large  blocks  of  stone,  fastened  together  with 
iron  cramps  to  the  brickwork  with  which  they  were 
lined.     In  the  roof  the  stones  overlap  like  tiles,  and 
there  are  four  small  gables  with  lancet  lights ;  there  is 
one  door  under  a  pointed  arch,  and  over  this  is  a  panel 
with  the  inscription,  which  appears  in  a  print  of  1 796 
as  Rep.  Anno  1632.     Another  panel   on  the   south 
side  bears   the  City  Arms,  and  the  date  1782.     Its 
height  was  about  20  feet.     The  water  issued  from  the 
interior  through  a  wooden  pipe  at  the  very  moderate 
rate    of    30    gallons   an    hour.     Taking    its    course 
under  Bayswater  Bridge  into  Kensington  Gardens,  it 
supplied  the  Palace.     Lysons,2  who  only  refers  briefly 
to   this  conduit,  not  being   so  much    concerned  with 
London  as  with  its  environs,  says  :  '*The  water-wheel 
at  Hyde-park  wall,  near  Knightsbridge  Chapel,3  was 

^  This  is  an  engraving  in  Lysons'  **  Environs  of  London,"  1795, 
published  August  10,  1798,  by  N.  Smith  (Guildhall  Library). 

2  "  Environs  of  London,"  1795,  iii.  331. 

3  Stood  on  the  north  side  of  the  main  road,  a  little  to  the 
eastward  of  Albert  Gate.    Built  1789. 

283 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

made  for  the  conveyance  of  this  water."  He  also 
mentions  that  the  water  from  the  same  conduit,  **  being 
conveyed  by  brick  drains,  supplies  the  houses  in  and 
about  Bond  Street,  which  stand  upon  the  City  lands." 

In  1835  William  Matthews  ^  wrote  with  reference  to 
this  conduit  :  "  Great  as  was  the  solicitude  and 
interest  formerly  excited  by  the  various  conduits,  at 
present  scarcely  any  traces  remain  to  indicate  the 
precise  places  whence  the  water  was  derived  that 
flowed  into  them.  That  at  Paddington,  however, 
which  was  the  first  constructed,  still  exists,  though 
probably  not  in  its  original  form,  but  at  a  recent  period 
it  afforded  a  plentiful  supply  to  some  houses  in  Oxford 
Street.  The  conduit-head,  or  spring,  is  situate  in  a 
garden  about  half  a  mile  to  the  west  of  the  Edgeware 
Road,  and  the  same  distance  from  Bayswater,  within 
two  or  three  hundred  yards  of  the  Grand  Junction 
Water  Company's  reservoirs.  It  is  covered  by  a 
circular  building  in  good  condition." 

There  is  an  article  in  the  Saturday  Magazine  for 
May  18,  1844,  on  the  Old  London  Conduits,  the 
information  in  which  is  acknowledged  by  the  writer  to 
be  chiefly  derived  from  Matthews'  *'  Hydraulia." 
Speaking  of  the  Roundhead  Conduit,  he  says  :  ''The 
sources  of  the  various  conduits  of  London,  formerly 
kept  with  so  much  care,  have  for  the  most  part  entirely 
disappeared.  That  at  Paddington,  however,  still 
exists,  though  probably  not  in  its  original  form."  The 
words  of  the  last  sentence  are  precisely  those  used  by 
Matthews,  so  that  Walford  and  others  seem  hardly 
justified  in  assuming  therefrom  that  the  Roundhead 
existed  in    1844,   nine   years  after    Matthews  wrote. 

'  "  Hydraulia,"  p.  22. 
284 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

But  however  this  may  be,  it  at  all  events  survived  far 
into  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  Builder  for  September  4,  1875,  contains  an 
interesting  reminiscence  of  the  building  (reprinted 
from  the  Daily  News)  communicated  by  a  Mr. 
George  Musgrave,  M.A.,  who  writes :  **  I  am  old 
enough  to  remember  the  stone-built  conduit-house, 
from  which  Conduit  passage  and  Spring  Street, 
Paddington,  derive  their  designation.  It  stood  in  a 
meadow  described  in  an  old  document  in  my  possession 
as  situate  between  Paddington  Church  (close  to  the 
Vestry  Hall)  and  the  north  side  of  Kensington 
Gardens ;  but  it  will  be  more  correctly  pointed  out  by 
my  stating  that  it  stood  on  a  slanting  grassy  bank  about 
100  feet  I  distant  from  No.  4,  Craven  Hill,  at  the  back 
of  the  line  of  dwelling-houses  bearing  that  name.  .  .  . 
I  drank  of  the  little  rivulet  in  1804,  and  recollect  per- 
fectly the  haystack-shaped  monument  (sic)  overshadow- 
ing the  stone  pipe  from  which  it  issued,  the  security  of 
which  was  threatened  by  the  roots  of  a  very  old  pollard 
elm.  When  the  Craven  Hill  Estate  was  parcelled  out 
for  building  purposes  this  stone  conduit-house  was 
pulled  down." 

The  vexed  question  of  the  site  is  ably  discussed  in 
a  paper  entitled  **  London's  First  Conduit  System," 
by  Mr.  A.  Morley  Davies,  F.G.S.^  In  the  section 
in  which  he  deals  with  the  evidence  afforded  by  maps 
and  plans,  he  points  out  that  although  it  might  be 
thought    that   with    their    aid    there    would    be    no 

^  Walford  ("  Old  and  New  London,"  v.  183),  quoting  from 
the  same,  has  it,  "  about  a  hundred  yanUP 

*  Transactions  London  and  Middlesex  Archaeological  Society, 
N.S.,  vol.  2,  pp.  9-59  (1907). 

285 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

difficulty  in  fixing  upon  the  precise  site  of  the  Round- 
head, yet  this  is  far  from  being  the  case.  The  plan  of 
1 746  I  in  the  Grace  Collection — to  the  large  scale  of 
about  43  inches  to  the  mile — which  is  the  most 
detailed  of  any  of  the  plans  relating  to  the  con- 
duits, and  the  earliest  which  includes  those  of 
Paddington,  "  may,"  he  says,  **  perhaps  be  accurate 
as  regards  the  measurements  from  point  to  point 
along  the  line  of  pipes,  but  the  field  boundaries  and 
roads  crossed  can  only  have  been  sketched  in  the 
roughest  way."  While  the  exact  site  is,  Mr.  Davies 
considers,  still  an  unsettled  question,  **the  most  prob- 
able site  of  the  Roundhead  seems  to  be  on  the 
north-western  side  of  the  street  now  called  Craven 
Road,  but  originally  named  Conduit  Street,  some- 
where near  its  intersection  of  Westbourne  Terrace 
(built  1847-52),  or  possibly  a  little  nearer  to  Pad- 
dington Station.  This  agrees  with  what  may  be  an 
indication  of  the  Roundhead  on  a  map  of  1824  (Crace 
Collection,  xiv.  4).  On  no  later  map  can  I  find  any 
indication  of  it." 

The  evidence  that  the  Roundhead  Conduit  belonged 
to  the  Westminster  system  is  contained,  as  pointed 
out  by  Colonel  Prideaux,  in  an  entry  in  the  Patent 
Rolls,  dated  March  i,  1439,  i8th  Henry  VI.,  in 
which  the  Abbot  of  Westminster  granted  a  head  of 
water,  "  in  quodam  clauso  vocato  Oxlese  infra  Terram 
et     Procinctum     Manerii    nostri     de     Padyngton."^ 

^  It  is  entitled  ''  A  Plan  of  the  Drains,  Openings,  Conduits, 
Pipes,  &c.,  from  the  Spring  Head  at  Paddington  to  the  Receipt 
Conduit,"  and  bears  the  note — "This  Plan  was  copied  from 
an  original  Plan  drawn  by  John  Rowley  for  Geo.  Dance, 
December  18,  1746." 

=»  The  grant  then  confers  the  right  "  to  erect  all  necessary 

286 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

From  the  plan  of  1746  it  appears  that  the  conduit 
was  divided  into  two  branches  at  the  spot  where  is 
now  Stanhope  Place,  Connaught  Square.  One  of 
these  branches  was  carried  through  Hyde  Park,  and 
a  surviving  witness  of  it  still  exists  in  the  shape  of 
the  little  square  conduit-house  standing  just  within 
the  palings  of  the  Park  where  the  buildings  of 
Knightsbridge  begin.  The  main  branch,  as  it  may 
be  termed,  from  the  starting-point  at  the  Roundhead 
Conduit,  of  **two  lead  pipes,  three  inches  diameter," 
ran  to  Tyburn  in  a  nearly  straight  line,  through 
enclosed  fields.  The  distance,  according  to  the  scale 
on  the  plan,  is  about  3,900  feet.  At  about  1,500  feet 
from  the  Roundhead  a  **  long  drain"  (for  so  it  is 
called)  begins,  and  extends  past  Tyburn,  obliquely 
crossing  the  main  road — Oxford  or  Tyburn  Road — 
close  by  the  gallows  (portrayed  on  the  plan)  under 
the  north-east  corner  of  **  Hide  Park,"  continuing  its 
course  along  the  south  side  of  Oxford  Road  (now 
Oxford  Street)  to  about  the  site  of  Park  Street, 
where  the  drain  ends  at  "Oliver  Cromwell's  Conduit." 
The  pipes  continue  past  *'  Ann  Wood's  Conduit,"  by 
the  end  of  North  Audley  Street,  to  a  point  just  east 
of  a  bridge,  and  then  turn  abruptly  south-eastwards, 
when  the  plan  ends.  A  little  further  east  on  the 
same  plan  is  a  large  '*  Receipt  ^  Conduit,"  opposite  the 
end  of  Marylebone  Lane. 

cisterns,"  &c.,  the  inference  being  that  the  Roundhead  was 
probably  erected  about  this  time,  in  the  fifteenth  century. 

^  The  word  '*  receipt,"  as  a  receptacle  for  water,  was  in  use 
in  the  sixteenth,  seventeenth,  and  eighteenth  centuries.  It 
occurs — spelt  receyte — on  a  Plan  of  Charterhouse  Waterworks, 
c.  15 12  (Archceologta^  Iviii.,  1902).  Bacon  uses  the  word  in  the 
same  sense  in  his  essay  on  Gardens  (1625). 

287 


springs.  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

The  route  from  Paddington  to  Marylebone  is  thus 
clearly  marked  out  on  the  1746  plan,  but  as  no  map 
or  plan  is  known  on  which  the  course  of  the  conduit 
pipes  between  Marylebone  and  the  City  is  shown, 
we  have  to  fall  back  upon  the  well-known  statement 
of  Stow,  who  makes  it  quite  clear  that  the  direction 
taken  by  the  watercourse  from  Paddington  was  by 
way  of  Charing  Cross,  the  Strand,  and  Fleet  Street, 
and  not  via  Bloomsbury  and  Holborn  :  '*  The  water 
course  from  Paddington  to  James  Head  hath  510 
rods ;  from  James  Head  on  the  hill  to  Mewsgate 
102  rods ;  from  the  Mewsgate  to  the  Crosse  in 
Cheape  484  rods."  ^  The  position  of  James  Head  is 
worked  out  by  Mr.  Davies  from  measurements  on 
the  maps,  and  by  other  deductions,  as  about  where 
the  present  St.  James's  Church  stands.  **  James 
Head  on  the  hill "  seems  to  him  to  denote  "  a 
fountain-head  or  spring  on  the  hill  above  St.  James's 
Hospital  (afterwards  St.  James's  Palace),  and  the 
site  indicated  comes  just  where  springs  were  likely  to 
exist  on  the  margin  of  the  higher  terrace  of  gravel." 
From  James  Head  the  pipes  kept  for  some  distance 
along  the  edge  of  the  hill,  and  then  turned  at  right 
angles  down  the  slope  to  the  Mews.  The  pipes  of 
the  Paddington  Springs  followed  the  course  of  the 
earlier  pipes  from  Marylebone  to  the  City,  the  latter 
passing  through  **  Conduit  Mead."  2     The  route  from 

*  Taking  the  rod  at  19  feet,  this  is  3,065  yards  i  foot.  Mr. 
Davies  gives  the  distance  from  Charing  Cross  to  the  site  of  the 
Great  Conduit  in  Cheapside  as  556  perches  (or  3,058  yards), 
which  is  a  fairly  close  approximation  to  Stow's  measurement. 

»  The  name  "  Conduit  Mead "  occurs  as  far  back  as  1536. 
Among  the  lands  exchanged  between  King  Henry  VIII.  and  the 
Abbot  of  Westminster  is  mentioned  "  a  close  called  Brickclose 

288 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

the  Mews,  near  which  was  a  separall  ^  **  made  against 
the  Chappell  of  Rounsevall  2  by  Charing  Crosse," 
was  along  the  Strand  and  Fleet  Street  and  up  Lud- 
gate  Hill.  The  pipes  must,  however,  have  been 
carried  well  to  the  north  of  the  Strand  and  Fleet 
Street,  or  there  would  not  have  been  a  sufficient 
pressure  to  carry  the  water  up  the  rise  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Fleet. 

There  were  then  belonging  to  the  Western  System 
two  distinct  sources  or  spring-heads,  namely  :  i. 
The  original  spring  from  which  water  was  first 
brought  to  the  City  from  without  its  walls  in  1236, 
situated  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Stratford  Place 
site  ;  additional  springs  on  or  adjacent  to  the  same 
site  being  impounded  in  1355.  2.  The  Paddington 
Springs — first  granted  to  the  City  in  1439,  the  works 
necessary  to  bring  their  water  to  the  City  not  being 
completed  until  1471.  The  pipes  followed  the  course 
of  the  earlier  pipes  from  Marylebone  to  the  City. 

Both  Strype  and  Maitland  state  that  in  1703  the 
City    leased    the    Marylebone   conduits   to    Richard 

in  the  same  parish  [of  St.  Martin]  between  the  Close  belonging 
to  Eybery  [the  region  of  Grosvenor  Square]  on  the  west  and 
north  and  Condet  Mede  on  the  east"  (State  Papers,  Henry 
VIII.,  vol.  xi.  (2),  84).  The  estate  is  still  the  freehold  property 
of  the  City  Corporation  and  forms  the  site  of  New  Bond  Street 
and  Brook  Street. 

^  Probably  a  settling-tank,  in  which  the  heavier  suspended 
matter  is  collected  for  ultimate  removal. 

=*  St.  Marie  Rouncivall.  Founded  by  William  Marshall,  Earl 
of  Pembroke,  in  1222,  suppressed  as  an  alien  priory  after  1432 
(Cals.  Pat.  Rolls,  Henry  VI.,  ii.  247),  and  revived  for  a  fraternity 
in  1476  ("  Mon.  Angl.,"  vi.  677  ;  Cals.  Pat.  Rolls,  Edward  IV., 
ii.  542).  It  was  on  the  site  of  the  present  Northumberland 
Avenue, 

^89  T 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

Soams  (or  Soame),  a  citizen  and  goldsmith,  for  a 
period  of  forty-three  years  at  a  rent  of  ;^700  per 
annum. 

In  1812  the  whole  Paddington  Conduit  System 
passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  City,  being  conveyed 
for  the  sum  of  ;^2,5oo  to  the  Bishop  of  London  and 
the  Trustees  who  held  the  Paddington  Estate  on 
lease,  and  were  at  that  time  developing  it  for  resi- 
dential purposes  by  virtue  of  a  private  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment (52  Geo.  III.  cap.  cxciii.). 

An  interesting  monograph  by  Mr.  Philip  Norman, 
published  in  Archceologia  in  1899,  describes  in 
detail  an  ancient  conduit-head  existing  in  Queen 
Square,  Bloomsbury,  which,  from  the  evidence  of 
documents,  shows  it  to  have  been  one  of  the  two 
sources  whence  the  Franciscan  monastery  of  the 
Grey  Friars  (or  Friars  Minor)  drew  their  supplies  of 
pure  water.  The  register  of  this  great  religious 
establishment  is  preserved  among  the  Cottonian  MSS. 
in  the  British  Museum,  and  there  is  in  it  a  detailed 
account  of  its  system  of  water-supply.  Guided  by 
this  topographical  description  of  the  conduit,  Mr. 
Norman  was  enabled  to  trace  the  course  of  the  water- 
pipes ;  this,  he  says,  was  **  under  Newgate,  close  to 
St.  Sepulchre's  churchyard,  crossing  the  Fleet 
River  or  Hole-Bourne  at  Holebourne  Bridge ;  up 
Leather  Lane,  then  a  mere  track,  and  thence  to  the 
north-west  into  the  open  country,  till  on  the  land  of 
Thomas  de  Basynges  the  nearer  conduit-head  was 
reached,  whence  was  drawn  the  chief  water-supply, 
and  finally  the  little  stone  house  beyond,  which  en- 
closes the  more  distant  head."  In  the  year  1893 
Mr.  Norman,  in  company  with  three  other  gentlemen, 

290 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

two  of  whom  were  architects,  examined  a  remarkable 
tank  or  well-head  in  a  garden  at  the  back  of  a  house, 
No.  20,  Queen  Square,  Bloomsbury,  which  stands 
immediately  north  of  a  passage  now  called  Queen 
Square  Place,  but  formerly  Brunswick  Court,  so 
marked  on  Rocque's  map  of  1746.  The  house  is 
rather  more  than  half  a  mile  to  the  north-west  of 
Leather  Lane,  Holborn.  The  masonry  forming  the 
structure  of  the  well-head  was  pronounced  by  Mr. 
Norman's  companions  to  be  at  least  as  old  as  the 
fourteenth,  and  very  probably  of  the  thirteenth, 
century.  The  descent  to  the  tank — in  plan  a 
square  of  from  11  to  12  feet — is  made  by  modern 
steps  down  to  the  level  of  the  first  arch  forming 
the  entrance  to  the  mediaeval  structure ;  thence  a 
straight  flight  of  steps  spanned  by  other  arches  leads 
to  the  tank  below. 

The  smaller  well  or  tank  (for  there  were  two)  may 
have  indicated  the  site  of  a  spring  which  still  supplies 
the  conduit-head.  The  whole  structure  is  shown  on  a 
plan  which  accompanies  the  paper.  An  examination 
which  Mr.  Norman  made  of  the  records  at  Christ's 
Hospital  cleared  up  all  doubtful  points  as  to  the 
identity  of  the  conduit  traced  by  him  with  that 
described  in  the  register  of  the  monastery,  the  passage 
from  which  containing  the  topographical  account  of 
the  water  system  he  retranslated.  From  evidence 
subsequently  accumulated  Mr.  Norman  was  able  to 
prove  beyond  a  doubt  that  this  structure  is  in  fact  the 
remoter  conduit-head  specified  in  the  above  account. 
The  reports  of  the  committee  meetings  of  the 
Hospital,  Mr.  Norman  observes,  not  only  showed 
conclusively  that  the  structure  in  Queen  Square  had 

291 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

formed  part  of  the  Grey  Friars  water  system,  but  also 
threw  a  useful  light  on  the  later  history  of  the  old 
London  conduits.  The  first  Minute  bearing  on  this 
subject,  besides  mentioning  the  conduit-head  then  in 
use  and  therein  called  the* 'Chimney  Conduit,"  also 
refers  to  a  **  White  Conduit  "  not  far  off.  The  date  of 
the  entry  is  1661,  when  Christ's  Hospital  must  already 
have  been  getting  part  of  its  supply  from  the  New 
River,  for  at  Michaelmas,  1665,  a  lease  of  the  "  river 
water  "  expired,  and  shortly  afterwards  the  Governors 
resolved  to  renew  it.  In  May,  1720,  a  letter  is 
read  at  a  committee  meeting  from  **  Nathaniel 
Curzon,  Esquire  (ancestor  of  Lord  Scarsdale),  about 
the  Chimney  Conduit,  alias  Devil's  Conduit,  in  Red 
Lion  Fields  belonging  to  the  Hospitall."  He  desires 
leave  to  take  down  the  chimney,  and  instead  thereof 
to  place  an  image  on  a  pedestal  of  stone  with  an  air- 
hole at  the  top.  This  was  agreed  to.  The  site  of 
the  Devil's  Conduit  exactly  corresponds  with  that 
of  the  well  at  back  of  No.  20,  Queen  Square,  and 
if  this  supplied  the  Hospital  it  supplied  the  Monastery 
also.  At  what  time  the  Chimney  or  Devil's  Conduit 
fell  into  disuse  does  not  appear  from  the  Minutes. 
The  "White  Conduit,"  which  Mr.  Norman  identifies 
with  the  "  nearest  head,"  as  it  is  called  in  the  monastic 
register,  seems  to  have  lingered  on  till  November  9, 
1739,  when,  according  to  Minutes,  it  seems  to  have 
been  last  viewed  by  the  Hospital  authorities. 

A  seventeenth  -  century  conduit,  a  square  brick 
building,  originally  faced  with  cement,  of  which  but 
little  now  remains,  and  having  a  stone  roof,  is  still 
standing  just  within  the  Park  railings,  a  short  distance 
west  of  Hyde  Park  Corner,  near  where  the  houses 

292 


CONDUIT    HOUSE   IN   HYDE   PARK. 

From  an  original  drawing  by  the  author 


To  face  p.  292. 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

begin.  It  is  described  as  the  "  Receiving  Conduit 
called  the  Standard"  on  a  plan  in  the  King's  Collection 
at  the  British  Museum,  called  *'A  Survey  of  the  Con- 
duits, &c.,  to  Whitehall,  St.  James's,  &c.,  in  1718,"  and 
various  springs  or  *' heads"  in  Hyde  Park  are  shown 
to  be  connected  with  it.^  There  are  no  windows  as 
in  the  Bayswater  conduit :  in  the  interior  are  four 
recessed  round-headed  arches,  with  chamfered  edges. 
The  building  is  11  feet  square,  the  height  22  feet,  and 
the  cubical  contents  of  the  iron  tank  1 44  feet,  equal  to 
about  900  gallons.  The  entrance  is  by  a  door  two 
steps  below  the  ground-level ;  a  stone  tablet  above  it 
is  inscribed  with  the  initials  **G.R.'*  and  the  date 
*'  1820,"  when  doubtless  the  building  underwent  some 
repairs.  It  has  been  long  disused,  and  the  tank  had 
no  water  in  it  when  the  writer  saw  it  in  October,  1908. 
A  much  larger  Conduit  House  is  that  in  Greenwich 
Park,  called  the  Standard,  and  as  Greenwich  is  well 
within  the  scope  of  this  book  a  short  account  may  be 
useful,  if  only  for  the  purpose  of  comparison.  Its 
position  is  on  the  side  of  the  Park  opposite  Groom's 
Hill,  about  320  yards  from  St.  Mary's  Gate  entrance. 
It  is  probably  a  late  eighteenth-century  building — of 
red  brick  and  red-tiled  roof  —  and  the  reservoir 
supplied  Greenwich  Hospital.  Its  use  was  discon- 
tinued early  in  1903.  The  cubical  contents  of  the 
tank  is  i,5i2j  feet,  equal  to  9,426  gallons. 2     There 

'The  reservoirs  in  Hyde  Park  and  the  Green  Park  were 
supplied  by  pipes  from  the  Chelsea  Waterworks.  There 
was  a  conduit  on  the  north  side  of  the  Serpentine  River, 
of  which  there  is  a  drawing  in  the  Grace  GoUection,  dated 
1796.    (Gat.,  p.  241,  No.  26). 

"  From  information  privately  communicated  to  the  writer  by 
Mr.  A.  Souza,  Park  Superintendent  of  Greenwich  Park  (1908). 

293 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

was  formerly  another  Conduit  -  house  in  the  Park, 
which  is  figured  by  Walford  (**  Old  and  New  London," 
new  edition,  vol.  vi.  p.  i68)  as  it  appeared  in  1835  ;  this 
one  was  abolished  many  years  ago.  Two  "  Park 
Conduits,"  probably  identical  with  the  above,  are 
mentioned  in  Hasted's  ''History  of  Kent"  ^  as  being 
connected  with  others  outside  the  Park.  In  a  plan 
facing  page  42  in  that  work,  entitled  "  A  Survey  of 
the  King's  Lordship  or  Manor  of  East  Greenwich," 
A.D.  1695,  7th  William  IIL,  five  conduits  are  marked 
in  different  parts  of  the  Park.  A  road  running 
parallel  with  Croom's  Hill  is  called  in  the  plan 
** Conduit  Walk";  here  are  two  of  the  conduits, 2 
the  remaining  three  are  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Observatory. 

Besides  the  conduits,  there  are  several  underground 
passages  in  the  Park,  running  in  different  directions, 
many  of  them  intended  for  the  conveyance  of  water  ; 
one  leads  from  beside  the  Standard  Reservoir  to  near 
the  drinking-fountain  at  the  top  of  Hyde  Vale ; 
another  runs  from  the  hollow  ground  by  Queen 
Elizabeth's  Oak  towards  Vanbrugh  Castle  ;  while  a 
third  passes  beneath  One  Tree  Hill,  a  branch  from 
which   goes   in   the   direction  of  Maze   Hill    House. 

'  Edited  by  H.  H.  Drake — continued  by  Streatfield  and 
Larking,  "The  Hundred  of  Blackheath,''  1886. 

2  In  a  book  entitled  '*  An  Account  of  the  Legacies,  Gifts, 
Rents,  &c.,  appertaining  to  the  Church  and  Poor  of  the  parish 
of  East  Greenwich,"  by  John  Kimbell,  1816,  the  two  conduits 
on  the  west  side  of  the  Park,  both  of  which  conveyed  water  to 
the  Old  Palace,  are  named  respectively  '^The  Standard 
Conduit "  and  "  The  Standard "  ;  the  position  of  the  latter 
on  the  plan  seems  to  coincide  very  nearly  with  that  of  the 
Standard  Reservoir  still  existing. 

294 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

Some  of  these  passages  must  be  of  ancient  date,  for 
"on  3rd  February,  1434,  King  Henry  VI.  granted 
to  his  uncle  Duke  Humphrey  of  Gloucester,  and 
Eleanor,  his  wife,  permission  to  construct  a  subter- 
ranean aqueduct  between  the  house  he  was  building 
(now  the  site  of  the  Royal  Observatory)  and  a  certain 
fount  in  Greenwich  called  Stockwell  (or  *  Common 
Well '  as  it  was  termed  in  early  parish  deeds)  outside 
the  King's  highway,  which  led  between  the  Duke's 
garden  and  the  Park,  and  confirmed  the  same  to  the 
Duke  and  his  heirs  for  ever." 

Mr.  A.  D.  Webster,  a  former  Superintendent  of 
Greenwich  Park,  in  a  book  on  the  subject  published 
by  him  in  1902,  speaks  of  the  elaborate  construction 
of  these  remarkable  passages  ;  that  which  originates 
near  the  Standard  Reservoir,  in  which  two  persons  can 
walk  side  by  side  without  stooping,  is  6  feet  high 
and  4  feet  wide,  is  beautifully  built  of  brick,  the  floor 
also  being  paved,  while  it  is  ventilated  by  three  shafts, 
each  6  feet  in  diameter,  which  pass  to  the  ground- 
level  above,  a  distance  of  between  30  and  40  feet. 
There  is  an  entrance  to  this  passage  on  the  piece  of 
waste  ground  between  the  Ursuline  Convent  and 
Hyde  Vale,  down  a  flight  of  wide  brick-built  steps 
and  well-formed  arch-work,  with  a  wooden  door, 
6  feet  high  at  entrance. 

Sir  Christopher  Wren,  about  1700,  repaired  the 
underground  passages  or  conduits,  and  added  water- 
pipes  to  two  at  least.  Several  of  the  conduits  were 
abandoned  in  1732,  and  the  sale  of  water  to  the  public 
then  ceased. 

The  method  of  conveying  water  in  wooden  pipes 
was  brought  into  use  after  the  New  River  works  were 

295 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

opened,  and  it  seems  to  have  lasted  till  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  populous 
centres  wood  was,  however,  not  the  only  material 
used  for  conduit  pipes ;  stone  and  brick  were  some- 
times employed.  A  correspondent  in  the  Times  of 
the  25th  of  April,  1896,  noticed  that  in  excavating 
the  road  in  Bond  Street  for  some  purpose,  the 
labourers  had  turned  up  some  Bath-stone  pipes,  drilled 
out  of  the  solid  stone.  For  special  purposes  the 
Romans  introduced  cast-lead  pipes ;  fragments  of 
these  have  been  found  in  London,  and  some  may  be 
seen  in  the  Guildhall  Museum,  where  they  are  referred 
to  the  Romano- British  period.  Others,  which  belong- 
to  the  seventeenth  century,  are  of  red  brick,  cylindrical 
in  form,  and  with  a  projecting  ridge  at  the  mouth  ;  it 
is  suggested  that  these  objects  may  have  been  spouts 
to  conduits.  Within  the  nineteenth  century  cast  iron 
became  general  in  the  case  of  large  towns.  In 
London  the  first  iron  main  was  laid  by  the  Chelsea 
Water  Company  in  1746.     It  was  a  12-inch  main,  and 

cost    ;^2,740. 

In  a  volume  of  pamphlets  in  the  Guildhall  Library, 
there  is  a  description  by  Mr.  F.  W.  Reader ^  of  two 
drawings  of  the  neighbourhood  of  Clerkenwell  with 
the  lines  of  wooden  water-mains  exposed  to  view. 
Both  are  taken  from  about  the  same  spot,  which  is  on 
the  course  of  the  Fleet  River,  at  this  time — circa  1 800 
— an  open  stream  as  far  as  Holborn.  The  locality  is 
that  traversed  by  the  King's  Cross  Road,  formerly  the 
Bagnigge  Wells  Road.  One  view  shows  the  mains, 
four  rows  lying  side  by  side,  crossing  the  Fleet  over 

'  "Wooden  Water-pipes  at  Clerkenwell,"  F.  W.  Reader,  1904. 
(Reprinted  from  the  Essex  Naturalist,  vol.  xiii.  pp.  272-274.) 

296 


w     4? 


<       o 


Q      ^ 
O       o 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

an  arch  in  the  Spa  Fields,  and  stretching  to  the  New 
River  Head  by  Sadler's  Wells.  A  street  of  houses 
seen  in  the  distance  is  Exmouth  Street,  then  occupied 
by  well-to-do  people.  The  dome  of  Spa  Fields 
Chapel,  once  famous  in  connection  with  the  Countess 
of  Huntingdon,  is  seen  over  the  tops  of  the  houses. 
The  Bagnigge  Wells  Road  is  seen  crossing  the 
picture  from  left  to  right  in  the  middle-distance, 
marked  by  a  line  of  fence.  The  second  view  is  from 
nearly  the  same  point,  about  where  the  present 
Calthorpe  Street  is,  not  far  from  Rowton  Mansions, 
the  spectator  looking  towards  King's  Cross.  The 
trees  of  Bagnigge  Wells,  at  this  period  a  flourishing 
pleasure-garden,  and  through  which  wandered  the 
stream  of  the  Fleet,  are  on  the  left  of  the  picture.  In 
the  foreground  the  water  is  seen  spurting  from 
defective  joints  in  some  of  the  pipes. 

These  drawings  are  said  to  have  been  made  for 
Sir  John  Soane,  not  on  account  of  their  topographical 
interest,  but  for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  defective 
system  of  the  New  River  mains  by  the  employment 
of  wooden  pipes.  ^ 

Matthews  (*' Hydraulia,"  1835,  p.  75)  descants  on 
the  advantage  of  leaving  the  pipes  exposed  as  shown 
in  the  drawings,  and  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that 
upon  the  whole  that  method  was  more  economical 
than  covering  them  up,  as  this  involved  at  times  a 
great  expenditure  of  time  and  labour  in  having  to 
excavate  them  in  order  to  find  a  leakage.     Instances 

^  Wooden  pipes,  commonly  of  7  inches  diameter,  cost  in 
182 1  about  8s.  a  yard.  The  Hfe  of  a  wooden  pipe  has  been 
variously  estimated  at  from  two  to  fifteen  years,  dependant  on 
the  soil  in  which  it  was  laid. 

297 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

occurred  of  200  or  300  yards  of  a  street  being  taken 
up  and  several  days  elapsing  before  the  workmen 
could  discover  a  defect. 

Interest  in  the  old  conduits  is  revived  from  time 
to  time  by  the  unearthing  of  these  wooden  water- 
pipes,  of  which  400  miles  are  said  to  have  been  laid 
in  London  ;  and  as  it  was  not  worth  the  expense  to 
take  them  up  when  they  came  to  be  replaced  by 
metal  pipes,  there  must  be  many  scores  of  miles  of 
them  still  underground.  The  pipes  were  equally 
common  in  the  East  as  well  as  in  the  West  End  of 
London ;  some  were  found  while  excavations  were 
being  carried  on  in  connection  with  the  Whitechapel 
to  Bow  Railway  extension,  opened  for  traffic  in  1902  ; 
several  hollowed  tree-trunks  were  turned  up  which 
were  precisely  similar  in  character  to  those  which 
have  at  various  times  been  brought  to  light  in  Bond 
Street  and  its  neighbourhood. 

In  the  Guildhall  Museum  there  is  a  specimen  of 
a  wooden  water-pipe,  5J  feet  in  length.  The  thick 
end  of  the  tree-trunk  has  been  hollowed  out  to 
9  inches  diameter  to  receive  another  pipe ;  the  thin 
end,  with  a  bore  of  6  inches,  is  tapered  for  insertion 
into  the  next  length  of  pipe.  In  the  same  Museum 
is  the  front  of  a  City  conduit,  from  the  corner  of 
South  Moulton  Street,  Oxford  Street.  The  stone 
face  measures  52x42^x15^  inches;  the  centre  has 
an  orifice  in  which  was  fixed  the  spout,  or  tap,  and  the 
City  Arms  are  carved  upon  it,  with  the  date  1627 
above  them.  Other  examples  of  the  old  wooden 
water-pipes  are  to  be  seen  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Royal  Botanic  Society,  Regent's  Park.  Every  few 
years    one   of  the   walled-up    cisterns   is   discovered 

298 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

under  the  foundations  of  old  houses.  A  stone  used 
to  mark  the  site  of  one  near  the  point  at  which 
Marylebone  Lane  crosses  Wigmore  Street;  another 
was  found  at  the  top  of  North  Audley  Street  in  1875, 
and  the  cisterns  under  the  Banqueting  House,  which 
once  stood  on  part  of  the  site  of  Stratford  Place,  are 
said  yet  to  exist  in  dark  oblivion. 

The  use  of  tree-trunks  for  water-pipes  is  still 
common  in  the  wooded  mountain  districts  of  Europe  ; 
and  in  the  Western  States  of  America  bordering  on 
the  Pacific  there  are  miles  of  pipes  made  for  carrying 
water  to  various  towns,  and  also  for  irrigation  and 
sewer  purposes.  They  vary  in  diameter  from  8  inches 
to  as  much  as  10  feet,  and  are  made  from  the  famous 
Californian  redwood-tree. 

Notwithstanding  the  numbers  of  conduits  erected 
at  different  times  in  various  parts  of  London,  as  well 
as  the  other  modes  adopted  for  supplying  water  to 
its  inhabitants,  the  quantity  proved  inadequate  to  the 
demands  of  a  constantly  increasing  population.  In 
this  exigency  the  invention  of  Peter  Morice,^  a 
Dutchman  or  Fleming,  but  a  free-denizen  of  London, 
in  the  service  of  Sir  Christopher  Hatton,  marked  an 
important  step  in  advance.  Morice's  was  the  first 
mechanical  contrivance  is  this  country  for  impelling 
water  in  an  ascending  direction,  and  thus  supplying 
places  much  higher  than  the  ordinary  water-level. 
Stow  calls  it  *'a  most  artificial  forcier"  :  it  was,  in  fact, 
a  plunger  or  force-pump.  The  earliest  writer  to 
mention  Morice  and  his  scheme  is  Abraham  Fleming, 
one  of  the  continuators  of  Holinshed's  **  Chronicles  " 

'  The  name  appears  also  as  Morryce,  Moryce,  Morris,  and 
Moris. 

299 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

(circa  1587).  On  the  condition  of  Morice  paying  los. 
annually,  the  Mayor,  Aldermen  and  Commonalty 
granted  him  a  lease,  dated  May  30,  1581,  for  a  term 
of  live  hundred  years,  by  which  he  was  authorised  to 
erect  an  engine  within  the  first  arch  of  London  Bridge. 
The  Thames  water,  which  was  conveyed  hence  in 
pipes  of  lead,  was  at  the  City's  expense  brought  up  to  a 
Standard  erected  at  the  north-west  corner  of  Leaden- 
hall,  and  supplied  the  eastern  part  of  the  City.  Two 
years  afterwards,  his  invention  proving  of  the  greatest 
benefit  to  the  City,  the  Corporation  granted  him  the 
use  of  a  second  arch  for  the  same  term.  In  the  mean- 
time— in  1582 — Bernard  Randolph,  Common  Serjeant 
of  the  City,  agreed  to  advance  money  (Stow  says  the 
amount  was  £yo6)  as  a  charitable  gift  "  towards 
bringing  water  out  of  the  Thames,  by  an  engine  to 
be  constructed  by  Peter  Morice,  from  London  Bridge 
to  Old  Fish  Street,  in  like  manner  as  he  had  already 
brought  the  water  to  Leadenhall,"  to  supply  the 
private  houses  of  the  citizens.  This  offer  had  been 
approved  by  the  Court  of  Aldermen,  and  licensed  by 
the  Common  Council,  inasmuch  as  the  work  **  would 
profit  the  whole  City,  and  be  no  hindrance  to  the 
poor  water-bearers,  who  would  still  have  as  much 
work  as  they  were  able  to  perform,  so  far  as  the  water 
of  the  Conduits  would  satisfy."  But  before  this  work 
of  private  benevolence  was  contemplated  the  Cor- 
poration had  granted  the  lease  to  Morice  for  his 
water-wheels  at  London  Bridge. 

Some  time  in  1580  a  kind  of  preliminary  agreement 
for  the  above-mentioned  lease  was  made  by  the 
Mayor  and  Commonalty  with  Morice,  but  for  some 
reason   they  hesitated   to  complete  it,  although  they 

300 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

had  paid  ;^50  out  of  £ioo  stipulated,  and  had 
provided  land  for  the  erection  of  engines.  By  reason 
of  his  employment  under  Sir  Christopher  Hatton, 
Morice  was,  however,  in  a  position  to  bring  pressure 
to  bear  upon  the  Corporation  through  his  patron, 
who  moved  the  Lords  of  the  Council  to  take  action 
in  the  matter.  This  they  did  by  addressing  a  letter  ^ 
to  the  Mayor  requesting  **  to  be  certified  as  to  the 
grounds  of  the  City  authorities  in  refusing  to  com- 
plete the  agreement " :  a  somewhat  high-handed 
method  of  procedure,  but  which  seems  to  have  had 
the  desired  effect,  though,  according  to  Stow,  it  was 
not  until  1582  that  the  new  water  service  came  into 
actual  operation. 

For  a  minute  account  of  these  London  Bridge 
Waterworks  we  are  indebted  to  a  Mr.  Henry 
Beighton,  F.R.S.,  an  engineer,  whose  description  and 
illustration,  with  references  to  the  parts  of  the 
machine,  as  it  then  existed,  appeared  in  the  Philo- 
sophical Transactions  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London 
for  1 73 1.  The  following  summary,  extracted  there- 
from, gives  the  distinguishing  features  of  the 
machine  : — 

The  pumps,  which  were  ram  pumps,  similar  in 
principle  to  those  used  in  the  present  day,  were 
driven  by  means  of  water-wheels  actuated  by  the  tide, 
whether  flowing  up  or  down.  The  plant  beneath  the 
arch  nearest  the  City  consisted  of  a  water-wheel, 
having  an  axle  19  feet  long  and  3  feet  in  diameter, 
carrying  26  floats,  each  14  feet  long  and  18  inches 
deep,  these  floats  being  secured  to  four  felloes  carried 

^  "  Remembrancia,"  p.  551.  The  letter  is  dated  Nonsuch, 
July  5,  1580. 

301 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

on  eight  spokes  secured  to  the  axle.  The  water-wheel 
axle  was  journalled  in  bearings  carried  upon  two 
levers,  one  at  each  end  of  the  wheel,  the  said  levers 
being  fulcrumed  at  the  ends  of  their  shorter  arms 
in  the  wooden  framing  ;  the  ends  of  the  long  arms 
of  the  levers  were  supported  by  means  of  chains  which 
were  capable  of  being  raised  and  lowered  manually  by 
means  of  winch  mechanism,  the  object  of  this  arrange- 
ment being  to  admit  of  the  raising  and  lowering  of  the 
water-wheel  in  the  river.  Secured  to  the  ends  of 
the  axle  of  the  water-wheel  were  gear  wheels,  inter- 
meshing  with  pinions  secured  upon  4-throw  crank- 
shafts, one  at  each  end  of  the  wheel.  Each  of  the  four 
crank-pins  was  connected  by  means  of  a  connecting- 
rod  to  the  end  of  a  beam  or  lever,  pivoted  at  its 
centre  in  the  framework  of  the  device,  so  that  oscilla- 
tion of  these  levers  or  beams  took  place  upon  rotation 
of  the  water-wheel.  Pivoted  to  each  end  of  levers 
or  beams  were  connecting-rods,  which  directly 
operated  the  ram  pumps  fixed  beneath  each  end  of 
the  beams,  and  as  there  were  four  beams  at  each  end 
of  the  wheel,  each  operating  two  pumps,  the  single 
wheel  drove  sixteen  pumps  (or  forcers,  as  they  were 
called). 

In  the  third  arch  of  the  bridge  were  fixed  three 
more  water-wheels,  the  first  of  which  worked  twelve 
pumps,  eight  at  one  end  and  four  at  the  other ; 
the  second  in  the  middle  worked  eight  pumps,  and 
the  third  sixteen  ;  making  a  grand  total  of  fifty-two 
pumps.  These,  when  working  under  the  best  con- 
ditions, were  designed  to  pump  123,120  gallons  per 
hour,  to  a  height  of  120  feet,  though  this  figure 
assumed  no  losses  which  might   be  due  to    leakage 

302 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

of  the  valve,  pistons,  &c.  The  pumps  were  con- 
nected to  a  common  delivery  pipe  of  7-inch  bore 
for  the  supply  of  the  houses.  Mr.  Beighton  con- 
sidered the  apparatus  well  designed  and  effective  in 
working,  and  far  superior  to  a  similar  apparatus  at 
Marly  in  France. 

Although  no  description  of  Morice's  original  plant, 
which  was  destroyed  in  the  Great  Fire,  seems  to  have 
come  down  to  us,  it  is  probable  that  the  one  described 
by  Beighton  was  made  after  the  same  model,  with 
perhaps  some  improvements  in  the  details. 

In  the  Act  for  rebuilding  the  City  in  1667  it  was 
provided  that  his  grandson,  Thomas  Morris  (szc),  should 
have  power  to  rebuild  with  timber  his  water-house 
adjoining  London  Bridge  for  supplying  the  City  with 
water,  **as  it  for  almost  this  hundred  years  hath  done 
(18  &  19  Charles  II.  c.  8,  s.  39).  The  property  in  the 
Waterworks  remained  in  the  possession  of  Morice's 
descendants  and  heirs  for  many  years  until,  finding 
the  profits  diminishing,  Thomas  and  John  Morris, 
surviving  representatives  of  the  original  grantee,  sold 
their  rights  in  1703  to  Richard  Soame  (or  Soams), 
citizen  and  goldsmith,  and  others,  for;^38,ooo.  These 
persons  procured  from  the  Corporation  the  use  of 
another  (the  fourth)  arch  of  London  Bridge  ;  paid 
;^300  fine  to  the  City  for  the  transfer  of  the  lease, 
and  turned  the  whole  property  into  a  company  of 
three  hundred  shares  at  ;^500  each  for  working  and 
developing  the  Waterworks.  The  City  conduits  still 
remaining  were  about  this  time  leased  to  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  Waterworks  for  ;^7oo  a  year.  When 
the  company  was  dissolved  in  1822  the  shares  had 
been  increased  to   1,500. 

303 


Springs,  Streams,  and   Spas  of  London 

On  the  Surrey  side  of  the  Bridge,  at  Southwark, 
Thames  water  was  chiefly  used,  which  fell  into  a 
large  pond  in  St.  Mary  Overies,  driving  a  mill  called 
St.  Saviour's  Mill.  At  a  subsequent  period,  with  the 
view  of  erecting  additional  water-wheels  to  increase 
the  efficiency  of  their  supply  to  the  City,  the 
proprietors  of  the  London  Bridge  Works  obtained 
from  the  Court  of  Common  Council  leases  of  the 
third  and  fifth  arches  ;  that  for  the  third  arch  in  1761, 
and  for  the  fifth  arch,  on  the  Southwark  side  of  the 
Bridge,  called  from  that  circumstance  **  The  Borough 
Wheel,"  in  1767.  There  was  a  stipulation  that  if 
the  licence  should  be  found  to  be  injurious  to  the 
navigation  of  the  river,  the  City  might  revoke  the 
grant.  The  supply  of  water  from  the  London  Bridge 
Works  extended  over  a  large  portion  of  the  Borough 
of  Southwark.  The  drawbacks  to  the  supply  from 
these  Works  were  the  commonly  turbid  state  of  the 
water,  I  and  nearly  the  whole  of  the  pipes  being  of 
wood,  they  were  unable  to  sustain  the  pressure 
necessary  for  raising  the  water  into  the  higher  stories 
of  many  houses.  The  wheels  also  were  of  wood  till 
181 7,  when  iron  wheels  were  substituted,  which 
proved  more  effective,  but  in  seasons  when  the 
tides  were  low  the  machinery  was  inefficient,  and 
a  steam  engine  had  to  be  used  to  pump  water  from  a 
point  near  the  middle  of  the  river.     The  Waterworks 

*  The  principal  method  relied  upon  in  the  present  day  for  the 
purification  of  water-supplies — namely,  the  slow  passage  of  water 
through  filter-beds — was  introduced  for  the  first  time  on  a  large 
scale  in  1828,  for  a  portion  of  the  London  water-supply,  and 
has  not  even  yet  been  very  generally  adopted  by  some  of  the 
principal  civilised  communities  of  the  world  (Sanitary 
Engineering,  L.  F.  Vernon- Harcourt,  1907). 

304 


Conduits  Without  the  City 

continued  in  this  state  until  they  were  assigned  to  the 
New  River  Company  by  an  Act  passed  July  26, 
1822,  the  third  year  of  George  IV.,  when  ^15,000 
was  paid  for  the  unexpired  period  of  the  grant. 
With  the  building  of  the  new  bridge — 1825-31  — 
their  final  demolition  was  inevitable,  those  who  had 
obtained  their  supply  from  them  getting  it  from  the 
New  River  and  East  London  Works. 

Such  is  the  history  in  brief  of  the  first  private 
undertaking  on  record  which  supplied  water  for 
private  gain.  But  besides  the  London  Bridge  Works 
there  were  other  projects  brought  forward,  though 
few  were  carried  to  a  successful  issue.  One  of  these 
is  noticed  by  Stow  (edition  1633),  which  was  pro- 
pounded by  one  Russel  "about  the  year  1580  odd," 
to  bring  water  from  Isle  worth,  viz.,  the  river  of 
Uxbridge  (/.^.,  the  Colne),  to  supply  the  north  of 
London ;  an  ambitious  scheme  on  paper,  but  which 
seems  never  to  have  got  beyond  that  stage.  In 
1592  a  request  had  been  made  by  Lord  Cobham 
to  the  Court  of  Aldermen  for  a  quill  of  water  from 
the  conduit  at  Ludgate  for  use  in  "  his  house  within 
the  Blackfriars " ;  meanwhile  the  Lord  Mayor  wrote 
suggesting  that  for  the  present  nothing  could  be 
done,  but  that  the  City  were  in  treaty  with  one 
Frederico  Genibella  (or  Genebelli),  an  Italian  engineer 
skilled  in  waterworks,  for  the  erection  of  a  wind- 
mill at  the  fountain-head  to  increase  the  supply.  If 
this  plan  succeeded,  the  request  might  be  granted. 
Evidently  it  did  not  succeed,  for  in  1594  we  find 
the  request  again  urged,  and  supported  by  a  letter 
from  the  Lord  Burghley.^  In  1593  Beavis  Bulmar, 
'  "  Remembrancia,"  p.  554. 

305  U 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

another  foreigner,  obtained  a  concession  to  set  up 
an  engine  at  Broken  Wharf,  a  short  distance  from 
Blackfriars  Bridge.  The  works  were  discontinued 
on  account  of  the  expense  being  greater  in  pro- 
portion to  the  supply  to  be  charged  for  than  that 
of  other  works.  About  half  a  century  after  this  a 
Sir  Edward  Ford  (in  1641)  published  "a  designe 
for  bringing  a  navigable  river  from  Rickmansworth, 
Hertfordshire,  to  St.  Gyles  in  the  Fields."  In  this 
tract  are  set  forth  the  advantages  of  the  proposed 
river  over  the  existing  New  River. 


306 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  NEW  RIVER— ARTESIAN  WELLS 

Hugh  Myddelton  and  the  New  River — Appeals  against  its  con- 
struction by  landowners  and  others — Myddelton  receives 
financial  assistance  from  the  King — ^And  a  loan  from  the 
Corporation  of  London — Opening  ceremony  on  Michaelmas 
Day,  1613;  described  by  Stow — Monopoly  estabUshed  to 
oblige  consumers  to  use  the  New  River  Company's  water — 
Great  value  of  King's  and  Adventurers'  shares — Transfer- 
ence of  the  New  River  Company's  business  to  the 
Metropolitan  Water  Board — Artesian  wells. 

WHILE  these  and  other  schemes  were  being 
formed  and  promoted  with  varying  success, 
and  generally  with  the  primary  object  of  meeting 
local  needs,  an  undertaking,  far  wider  in  its  scope, 
and  which  was  destined  to  outlive  all  others,  came 
into  being.  This  was  the  New  River,  the  making  of 
which,  for  public  usefulness,  may  be  classed  among 
the  most  notable  achievements  of  that  age.  It  was 
carried  through,  in  the  face  of  much  antagonism,  by 
the  enterprise  and  public  spirit  of  a  goldsmith  of 
London — but  of  Welsh  extraction — Hugh  Myddel- 
ton. ^ 

'  The  name  is  spelt  in  different  documents  Middleton, 
Middelton,  Mydelton,  but  he  himself  usually  signed  his  name 
Myddelton. 

307 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

London  had  far  outgrown  its  existing  means  of 
water-supply,  but  although  complaints  had  been  re- 
peatedly made  of  deficiency,  no  definite  steps  were 
taken  in  the  way  of  remedy  until  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment was  obtained  in  the  year  1606  (3  Jac.  c.  18) 
authorising  the  Corporation  to  bring  *'a  fresh  stream 
of  running  water  to  the  north  parts  of  London 
from  the  springs  of  Chad  well  and  Am  well,  ^  and  other 
springs  in  the  County  of  Hertford,  not  far  distant 
from  the  same."  This  water  was  intended  to  be 
brought  within  the  City  by  a  trench  not  broader  than 
10  feet  throughout  its  entire  length.  But  even  with 
these  powers  nothing  was  done,  except  that  upon 
** advised  consideration"  it  was  thought  more  con- 
venient that  the  water  should  be  conveyed  through 
a  trunk  or  vault  of  brick  or  stone  than  in  an 
open  trench. 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  opposition  to  the  Bill 
of  1606.  A  Captain  Edmund  Colthurst,  who  appears 
to  have  been  employed  by  the  Corporation  to  make 
plans  for  a  supply  of  water  from  the  Hertfordshire 
springs,  claimed  compensation  for  having  acquired 
prior  rights  in  this  project.  In  March,  1608,  Colthurst 
offered  to  carry  out  the  works,  but  the  Court  of 
Aldermen  were  of  opinion  that  he  had  not  the 
necessary  means,  and  therefore  refused  his  application. 
Some  recompense  was  probably  made  him. 

No  long  time  passed  before  the  Corporation,  un- 
willing  or   lacking  the  courage  to  embark  upon  an 

'  They  were  fine  chalk-water  springs  in  the  valley  of  the  Lea, 
issuing  from  the  foot  of  the  chalk  hills.  Chadwell  was  the 
upper  and  larger  of  the  two,  Amwell  lying  to  the  south 
of  Ware. 

308 


The    New    River 

engineering  work  of  unknown  difficulty  and  expense, 
abandoned  the  powers  confided  to  them,  and  thus 
a  second  private  undertaking  for  the  supply  of 
London  with  water  became  firmly  established.  By 
deeds  dated  in  1609  and  161 1  they  transferred  these 
powers  to  Hugh  Myddelton,  who,  as  member  of 
Parliament,  had  sat  on  Committees  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  water-supply  of  North  London,  which 
had  familiarised  him  with  the  subject,  declared  himself 
ready  to  take  up  the  formidable  task,  and  to  complete 
the  work  within  four  years.  His  offer  was  accepted, 
and  the  first  sod  of  the  proposed  New  River  was 
turned  on  the  21st  of  April,  1609,  the  operations  com- 
mencing at  Chadwell,  near  Ware,  the  principal  spring. 
At  the  very  outset  Myddelton  s  troubles  began.  The 
opposition  of  the  landowners  through  whose  estates 
the  stream  had  to  pass  was  so  determined,  that  in  the 
year  16 10  a  Bill  was  brought  into  the  House  of 
Commons  to  repeal  the  New  River  Acts  of  3  and  4 
Jac.  L  ;  the  petitioners  objecting  to  the  new  works 
as  destructive  of  their  interests  ;  that  **  their  meadows 
would  be  turned  into  bogs  and  quagmires,"  and  arable 
land  become  "  squalid  "  ;  that  their  farms  would  be 
"mangled";  that  the  **  cut  "was  no  better  than  a 
ditch,  dangerous  alike  to  men  and  cattle.^  But,  de- 
spite all  obstacles,  Myddelton,  with  untiring  energy, 
persevered    in    his    undertaking,    which    progressed 

^  The  King  himself  had  an  unpleasant  experience  of  this. 
While  riding  along  its  banks  with  Prince  Charles  in  the  winter 
of  1621-22,  when  the  river  was  slightly  frozen  over,  his  horse 
stumbled  and  threw  him  into  the  water  :  the  King's  body  dis- 
appeared under  the  ice,  nothing  but  his  boots  remaining 
visible.  He  was  quickly  dragged  out  and  took  no  harm  from 
the  mishap. 

309 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

steadily  ;  the  City,  on  his  application,  granting  him  an 
extension  of  five  years,  on  the  ground  of  difficulties 
interposed  by  occupiers  and  owners  of  the  lands  he 
required  for  the  prosecution  of  his  work. 

As  might  be  expected,  Myddelton's  private  purse 
was  unequal  to  the  constant  drain  upon  it,  and  by 
the  time  the  channel  had  been  constructed  as  far 
as  Enfield  he  found  himself  in  straits  for  want  of 
money.  In  this  dilemma  he  applied  to  the  King, 
with  whom  he  had  already  had  dealings  as  a  jeweller. 
James,  who  had  become  interested  in  the  works  and 
their  progress  while  at  Theobalds,  his  hunting-lodge 
near  Enfield,  agreed  to  furnish  one-half  the  outlay  in 
bringing  the  New  River  to  North  London,  and  in 
distributing  the  water,  on  condition  of  receiving  one 
moiety  of  the  undertaking  and  of  its  annual  profits. 
The  Articles  of  Agreement  between  the  King  and 
Myddleton,  which,  however,  precluded  the  former 
from  taking  any  part  in  the  management,  were 
executed  November  5,  161 1,  and  were  confirmed 
by  a  Grant  under  the  Great  Seal  on  May  2nd  of  the 
year  following.  An  abstract  of  the  Grant  from  the 
original  in  the  Public  Record  Office  is  given  by 
Smiles  in  his  *'Lives  of  the  Engineers"  (pp.  1 16-17). 
In  September,  16 14,  the  Corporation  granted  Myddel- 
ton  a  loan  of  ;^3,ooo  for  three  years.  With  this  money 
Myddleton  was  able  to  complete  the  works,  and  the 
water  was  let  into  the  reservoir  ^  at  the  New  River 

'  The  reservoirs  of  the  New  River  Company  at  the  New  River 
Head,  Clerkenwell,  varied  in  size — one  consisted  of  about  2 
acres,  but  the  other  three  of  about  i  acre  each,  the  whole 
averaging  in  depth  about  10  feet,  and  each  one  having  a 
connection  with  the  principal  main. 

310 


The    New    River 

Head,  in  the  parish  of  Clerkenwell,  on  Michaelmas 
Day,  1613,  in  the  presence  of  Sir  John  Swinnerton, 
who  was  then  Lord  Mayor,  and  Thomas  Myddelton, 
brother  of  Hugh,  who  was  Lord  Mayor-elect.  Sir 
Hugh  was  knighted  the  same  year,  and  made  a 
baronet  in  1622.  There  was  also  a  great  concourse 
of  officials,  workmen,  and  citizens.  Stow,  who  records 
that  he  rode  down  divers  times  to  see  the  works 
during  their  progress,  gives  a  brief  description  of 
the  opening  ceremony,  and  a  metrical  speech  com- 
posed for  the  occasion — in  full. 

The  shareholders  were  incorporated  by  letters 
patent  on  the  21st  of  June,  16 19,  under  the  title  of 
the  *' Governors  and  Company  of  the  New  River 
brought  from  Chadwell  and  Amwell  to  London." 
The  government  of  the  Corporation  was  vested  in 
the  twenty-nine  Adventurers,  who  held  amongst  them 
the  thirty-six  shares  originally  belonging  to  Sir  Hugh, 
who  had  by  that  time  reduced  his  holding  to  only 
two  shares.  The  New  River,  as  originally  con- 
structed, was  a  canal  of  10  feet  in  width,  and 
probably  about  4  feet  deep.  It  followed  a  very 
circuitous  course,  at  various  levels,  of  about  38!  miles 
(but,  as  the  crow  flies,  not  more  than  20  miles), 
with  a  slight  fall,  to  Islington,  where  it  discharged  its 
water  at  the  New  River  Head.  The  site  of  this  had 
always  been  a  pond,  **an  open  idell  poole,"  says 
Howes  in  his  '' Annales  "  (1631),  **  commonly  called 
the  ducking  pond."  Where  the  fall  of  the  ground 
was  found  to  be  inconveniently  steep  a  stop-gate 
(sluice)  was  introduced  across  the  stream,  penning 
from  3  to  4  feet  perpendicularly,  the  water  flow- 
ing   over   weirs   down   to   the    next   level.      In    the 

3" 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

opinion  of  Mr.  Robert  Mylne,  one  of  the  Company's 
engineers,  the  river,  as  originally  constructed  by 
Myddelton,  obtained  quite  as  large  a  supply  of  water 
from  the  grass-lands  along  the  hillsides  as  from 
the  Hertfordshire  springs.  The  bridges  over  the 
river  were  about  i6o  in  number,  built  mostly  of 
timber,  with  a  water-way  under  them,  not  exceeding 
lo  feet  in  width.  Where  roads  had  to  pass  under 
the  stream  it  was  carried  in  wooden  troughs  lined 
with  lead,  supported  on  arches.  One  of  these 
troughs,  or  aqueducts,  at  Bush  Hill,  near  Edmonton, 
was  about  660  feet  long  and  5  feet  deep.  A 
brick  arch  also  formed  part  of  this  aqueduct,  under 
which  flowed  a  stream  which  had  its  source  in  Enfield 
Chase,  the  arch  sustaining  the  trough  and  the  road 
alongside  of  it.  This  was  considered  one  of  the 
most  important  structures  of  the  original  New  River 
works,  and  was  said  to  have  cost  ;^500.  (Salmon, 
** History  of  Hertfordshire,"  1728,  p.  20.)  There  were 
other  brick  tunnels  at  Stoke  Newington  and  Islington. 
The  water,  when  it  reached  the  City,  was  at  first 
carried  in  pipes  of  wood,^  and  it  was  estimated  by 
the  Company's  engineer  that  the  waste  by  leakage 
from  them,  and  by  bursting  under  pressure,  was 
about  one-fourth  of  the  total  quantity  of  water 
supplied.  2 

^  In  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  for  March,  1753  (vol.  23, 
p.  114),  is  a  paper  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  not  pubHshed  in 
his  collected  works,  called  "Thoughts  concerning  the  Distribu- 
tion of  the  New  River  Water,"  in  which  he  mentions  the  feeble 
flow  in  Soho  and  the  higher  parts  of  London,  and  suggests 
improvements ;  but  refers  to  it  as  "  this  noble  aqueduct." 

^  Down  to  1805  the  New  River  Company  could  not  serve 
water  above  the  ground  floor  in  any  part  of  London.    All  their 

312 


The    New    River 

Long  accustomed  to  receive  water  without  pay- 
ment, the  citizens  were  naturally  in  no  haste  to  take 
the  New  River  supply  into  their  houses.  But  in 
those  days  of  monopolies  there  was  little  scruple 
in  enforcing  compliance  ;  unjust  and  arbitrary 
influence  from  high  quarters  was  unblushingly 
exercised  to  check  free  competition  and  to  oblige 
consumers  to  take  water  from  favoured  sources. 
Such  influence  was  plainly  shown  in  more  than  one 
instance,  as  in  a  proposal  for  new  works  at  London 
Bridge  for  the  supply  of  Southwark — which  was 
prohibited ;  and  also  in  respect  of  intended  works  at 
Dowgate,  certain  brewers  and  others  having  applied 
for  a  lease  of  a  water-house  there  belonging  to  the 
City,  and  to  be  allowed  to  lay  pipes  to  convey  any 
surplus  water  into  their  brew-houses  without  Cripple- 
gate.  Although  the  City  Lands  Committee  recom- 
mended that  a  lease  should  be  granted,  yet  the  Lords 
of  the  Council  **  deemed  it  expedient  to  require  that 
stay  should  be  made  of  any  intended  waterworks  at 
Dowgate,  the  more  so  since  the  brewers  could  so 
conveniently  be  supplied  from  the  new  stream,  which 
was  of  great  consequence  to  His  Majesty's  service, 
and  deserved  all  due  encouragement."  To  such 
lengths  did  these  prohibitions  go  when  any  pro- 
ceedings were  taken  which  might  be  supposed  to 
prejudice  the  New  River  Company. 

The  following   transaction  will  convey  an  idea  of 

mains  being  of  wood,  the  water  was  shut  off  at  night  to  prevent 
waste,  which  was  enormous.  If  a  fire  broke  out  it  was  necessary 
to  send  to  the  New  River  Head  with  instructions  to  turn  on  the 
water,  and  a  watchman  was  kept  to  look  out.  (Committee  of 
182 1  on  MetropoUtan  Water  Supply.  Evidence  of  Mr.  Myne, 
pp.  6,  8.) 

313 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

the  mode  of  charging  for  a  supply  of  water  at  an 
early  period.  In  1616  Hugh  Myddelton  granted  a 
lease  ^  for  twenty-one  years  to  a  citizen  and  his  wife  of 
a  **  pipe  or  quill  of  half  an  inch  bore,  for  the  service 
of  their  yarde  and  kitchine,"  by  means  of  "  tooe  of 
the  smallest  swan-necked  cockes,"  in  consideration 
of  the  yearly  sum  of  26s.  8d.  (Nelson's  '^  History  of 
St.  Mary,  Islington,"  181.) 

It  was  a  long  time  before  there  were  any  profits 
accruing  to  the  shareholders  of  the  New  River 
Company;  no  dividend  was  paid  until  1633 — twenty 
years  from  the  date  of  opening.  One  of  the 
privileges  granted  by  the  Charter  of  Incorporation 
to  the  Company  was  that  the  Adventurers  should  hold 
their  property  from  the  Crown  in  free  and  common 
socage,  the  effect  of  which  was  to  make  each  pro- 
prietor's share  a  freehold  estate.  As  the  undertaking 
in  its  early  days  yielded  no  return,  Charles  I.  re- 
granted  his  thirty-six  shares  (half  the  capital)  to  Sir 
Hugh  Myddelton,  in  consideration  of  an  annual  pay- 
ment of  ;^5oo.  This  sum  is  still  paid  into  the 
Exchequer,  and  attaches  to  the  King's  shares  as  a 
"  clog "  or  charge.  Mention  is  made  of  the  Grant, 
which  is  dated  November  15,  1631,  in  the  Calendar 
of  State  Papers,  1631-33.  After  1640  the  Company's 
prosperity  steadily  increased ;  by  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  century  the  dividend  paid  was  at  the 
rate  of  about  ;^200  per  share  ;  at  the  end  of  the 
eighteenth  century  above  ;^5oo,  and  by  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century  about  ;^850.  Both  King's 
and  Adventurers'  shares  have  been  subjected  to  much 

'  A  copy  of  the  lease  is  in  Hughson's  "  History  of  London," 
vol.  vi.  p.  358  (1806-09). 

314 


The    New    River 

subdivision.  Entick,  writing  in  1766,  estimates  the 
value  of  a  share  at  that  time,  from  a  late  sale,  at 
;^8,ooo.  At  a  sale  by  auction  in  London,  in  1873, 
one  quarter  of  a  King's  share  was  sold  for  ;^i 2,240, 
nearly  ;^49,ooo  for  the  whole  share ;  the  income  for 
the  last  year  having  been  on  this  quarter  share  ;^448. 
In  1891  a  xTo^h  part  of  a  King's  share  was  purchased 
for  ;^7oo ;  and  on  the  15th  of  November,  1893,  in  the 
open  market,  an  undivided  Adventurers'  share  fetched 
;^94.900. 

As  regards  the  first  cost  of  the  New  River  works, 
the  accidental  destruction  by  fire  in  1769  of  the 
Company's  early  records  makes  it  impossible  to  test 
the  accuracy  of  the  different  estimates  by  comparison 
with  them.  Entick,  who  published  his  "  History  and 
Survey  of  London"  in  1766,  in  a  short  notice  of 
the  New  River,  quotes  Maitland  word  for  word, 
merely  saying,  with  reference  to  the  cost :  **  He 
(Myddelton)  began  his  work  on  the  20th  February, 
1608,  and  with  great  difficulty,  art,  and  industry, 
and  a  prodigious  expense  (of,  as  it  is  recorded,  no 
less  than  ;^5oo,ooo) " — although  he  probably  could 
have  got  the  information  at  first  hand  from  the  Com- 
pany itself.  Maitland  (edition  of  1760)  does  not 
mention  the  cost.  Smiles,  in  his  "  Lives  of  the 
Engineers"  (1861-62),  bases  his  calculation  of  it 
upon  the  repayments  out  of  the  Royal  Treasury  for 
charges  disbursed  by  Myddelton ;  entries  of  these 
in  the  Pell  records  show  that  the  payments  made 
on  the  King's  account  were  £S,6og  14s.  6d.,  so  that, 
adding  the  same  sum  for  Myddelton's  share,  the 
total  expenditure  was  ;^I7,2I9  19s.  But  this 
evidently    does     not    include    other    initial    outlays, 

315 


springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

which  run  into  high  figures.  A  number  of  items  of 
expenditure  are  mentioned  in  a  circular  dated 
February  27,  1812,  issued  by  the  New  River 
Company  to  the  occupiers  of  houses  supplied  with 
water  by  them,  in  which  they  allege  that  the  forma- 
tion of  their  works  in  the  time  of  the  original 
projector,  Hugh  Myddelton,  cost,  "according  to  the 
best  authorities,  ;^5oo,ooo" — a  very  non-commital 
statement.  In  1821  the  Company  furnished  a  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  with  an  estimate 
of  their  capital  expenditure,  which  included  ;^369,6oo 
*'  for  original  purchase  of  the  springs  of  Chad  well 
and  Amwell ;  remuneration  to  millers  upon  the  river 
of  Lea ;  purchase  of  land  for  formation  of  river ; 
excavation  of  ground ;  levelling  and  puddling  of 
banks ;  timber  and  brick  wharfing  at  various  places 
on  banks  80  miles  long ;  embankment  of  valleys, 
and  tunnelling  at  five  guineas  a  yard";  ;^i 5,700 
for  157  brick,  timber,  and  iron  bridges;  ;^8,i20 
for  57  culverts ;  ;^6,ooo  for  **  the  purchase  of 
60  acres  of  land  for  reservoirs,  ponds  and  head 
cisterns,  and  their  construction,  ;^  108,300.  The  total 
outlay  down  to  1820,  including  ;^3 2,000  paid  for  the 
York  Buildings  Waterworks, ^  was  ;if  1,115,500." 

In  more  recent  times  the  New  River  has  enlarged 
its  works,  widening  and  otherwise  improving  the 
channel ;  more  capacious  reservoirs  have  been  con- 
structed, and  a  great  additional  supply  of  water 
has  been  obtained  from  the  river  Lea,  and  from 
numerous    wells    sunk    in    the    chalk,    through    the 

'  These  works,  situate  at  the  bottom  of  Villiers  Street,  Strand, 
getting  into  financial  difficulties,  were  conveyed  to  the  New 
River  Company  in  1818. 

316 


The    New    River 

London  Clay,  &c.,  at  Ware,  Cheshunt,  Hornsey, 
and  elsewhere  ;  but  the  general  course  and  site  of 
the  works  are  nearly  the  same  as  in  the  time  of 
Myddelton. 

The  New  River  Company  was  for  many  years  the 
only  Company  by  which  water  was  supplied  to 
London ;  seven  others  were  subsequently  formed, 
the  Chelsea  Waterworks  being  the  earliest  in  1723 
or  1724.  With  the  advent  of  the  water  companies 
one  might  reasonably  expect  to  find  greatly  improved 
conditions  of  water-supply,  if  not  exactly  ideal  ones. 
This,  however,  was  far  from  being  the  case.  Mr. 
Jephson  tells  us  in  **  The  Sanitary  Evolution  of 
London*'  (1907) — among  other  interesting  facts  and 
figures — that  the  supply  of  water  in  the  eighteen- 
fifties  was  not  only  very  limited  in  quantity,  but, 
with  the  exception  of  that  supplied  by  one  company, 
bad  in  quality.  Moreover,  the  right  of  supplying 
this  vital  requirement,  or,  as  it  has  been  called,  this 
"  life-blood  of  cities,"  had  been  made  over  by 
Parliament  to  sundry  private  companies  without 
taking  any  guarantee  or  security  for  a  proper 
distribution  to  the  people,  or  for  the  purity  of  the 
water,  or  the  sufficiency  of  its  supply.  Although 
by  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was 
no  portion  of  the  metropolis  into  which  the  mains 
and  pipes  of  some  of  the  companies  had  not  been 
carried,  yet,  as  the  companies  were  under  no 
compulsion  to  supply  it  to  all  houses,  large  numbers, 
and  particularly  the  poorer  classes,  received  no 
supply.  In  the  district  supplied  by  the  New  River 
Company,  containing  about  900,000  persons,  about 
one-third  of  the  population  were  unsupplied ;   and  in 

317 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

the  much  smaller  area  of  the  Southwark  Company's 
district  about  30,000  persons  had  no  supply.  Even 
in  1850  it  was  computed  that  80,000  houses  in 
London,  inhabited  by  640,000  persons,  were  un- 
supplied  with  water.  A  very  large  proportion  of 
the  people  could  only  obtain  water  from  stand-pipes 
erected  in  the  dourts  or  streets,  and  that  only  at 
intermittent  periods  and  for  a  very  short  time  in 
the  day. 

The  great  shortage  of  company-supplied  water 
compelled  large  numbers  to  have  recourse  to  the 
pumps  which  still  existed  in  considerable  numbers  in 
many  parts  of  London,  the  water  from  which  was 
drawn  from  shallow  wells. 

In  June,  1904,  the  undertakings  of  seven  out  of 
the  eight  companies  passed  to  the  Metropolitan 
Water  Board  (constituted  1902),  which  took  over 
their  debts,  liabilities,  &c.,  and  a  month  later  the 
business  of  the  New  River  Company  passed  to  the 
same  authority,  which  now  control  the  whole  water- 
supply  of  London.  The  cost  to  the  ratepayers  of 
London  of  this  huge  transfer  was  not  much  less  than 

;^40,000,000. 


Artesian    Wells. 


Many  advantages  were  expected  to  have  accrued 
to  Londoners  from  the  absorption  of  the  old  water 
companies,  but  these  advantages,  so  confidently 
anticipated  when  the  amalgamation  was  first  mooted, 
have  not  been  realised.  On  the  contrary,  the  Water 
Board's  charges  under  the  new  Metropolitan  Water 

318 


Artesian    Wells 

Board  Charges  Act  (1907)  are  found  to  press  very 
heavily  upon  large  establishments,  especially  in  the 
City  proper,  for  there  the  rateable  value  on  which 
the  assessment  is  made  is  extremely  high.  In 
consequence  of  this  the  owners  and  occupiers  of 
highly  rated  property,  who  are  large  users  of  water — 
in  order  to  effect  economy — now  obtain  their  supplies 
by  means  of  artesian  wells.  ^ 

As  these  wells  have  their  origin  below  that  zone 
which  is  affected  by  the  changing  superficial  tempera- 
ture of  the  seasons,  the  water  is  of  an  even  tempera- 
ture and,  when  drawn  from  deep-seated  springs,  of 
great  purity  and  abundance  ;  it  is  therefore  hardly  a 
matter  for  wonder  to  find  that  most  large  buildings 
now  being  erected  in  the  metropolis  are  provided 
with  their  own  artesian  wells. 

The  principle  on  which  artesian  wells  are  made 
may  be  thus  briefly  stated.  Let  us  suppose  a 
geographical  basin  of  greater  or  less  extent,  in  which 
two  impermeable  layers  (as  of  clay)  enclose  between 
them  a  permeable  layer  (as  of  gravel,  sand,  or  lime- 
stone). The  rain-water  falling  on  that  part  of  this 
porous  layer  which  comes  to  the  surface,  and  which 
is  called  the  outcrop,  will  filter  through  it,  and  following 
the  natural  fall  of  the  ground  will  collect  in  the  hollow 
of  the  basin,  whence  it  cannot  escape  owing  to  the 
impermeable  strata  above  and  below  it.  If,  now, 
a  vertical  hole  be  sunk  down  to  the  water-bearing 

^  One  of  the  first  artesian  wells  near  London  was  bored  in 
1794,  at  Norland  House,  the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied 
by  Norland  Square,  on  the  north-west  of  Holland  House, 
Kensington  (^'  Cyclopsedia  of  Useful  Arts  and  Manufactures, " 
Div.  I.,  footnote,  p.  79). 

319 


Springs,  Streams,  and  Spas  of  London 

stratum,  the  water  striving  to  regain  its  level  will  spout 
out  to  a  height  which  depends  on  the  difference 
between  the  levels  of  the  outcrop  and  of  the  point  at 
which  the  boring  is  made.^  The  conformation  of  the 
London  Basin  under  and  around  the  City  seems  to 
fulfil  all  these  conditions. 

In  an  article  headed  "London  Wells"  in  the 
Daily  Telegraph  of  September  14,  1909,  there  is  a 
table,  by  no  means  complete,  but  which  gives 
the  depth,  and  gallons  yielded  per  hour,  of  some 
dozen  of  the  principal  artesian  wells  installed  in 
London.  The  depth  of  these  range  from  300  to  500 
feet,  and  the  yield  per  hour  is  from  3,000  to  13,000 
gallons.  Still  larger  quantities,  and  from  greater 
depths,  are  obtained  from  wells  in  France.  The  most 
famous  artesian  well  is  perhaps  that  of  Grenelle, 
formerly  a  village,  now  forming  a  south-west  quarter 
of  Paris,  which  it  supplies  with  water.  The  water  is 
brought  up  from  the  gault  at  a  depth  of  nearly  1,800 
feet.  It  yields  over  30,000  gallons  an  hour,  the 
water  rising  with  such  force  as  to  be  propelled 
32  feet  above  the  surface.  One  at  Tours  jets  6  feet 
above-ground,  and,  rushing  up  with  great  energy, 
yields  237  gallons  per  minute  (14,220  gallons  per 
hour). 

But  these  are  all  outdone  by  some  remarkably 
deep  artesian  wells  which  have  been  struck  in 
various  parts  of  Australia,  especially  in  what  is 
termed  the  main  artesian  area  of  that  continent, 
which  is  of  immense  extent,  forming  an  irregular 
triangle,  and  covering  a  large  part  of  Queensland, 
New  South  Wales,   and  South  Australia.      It  is  the 

«  Ganot's  "  Physics,"  13th  edition,  1890,  pp.  99,  100. 
320 


Artesian    Wells 

largest  artesian  basin  known  in  the  world,  except 
that  of  Dakota,  in  America.  Some  of  the  bores  are 
of  great  depth :  the  Dolgelly  bore.  New  South 
Wales,  is  4,086  feet  deep  ;  the  outputs  are  even  more 
extraordinary;  one  near  Richmond,  North  Queens- 
land, with  a  depth  of  841  feet,  has  an  output  of 
1,500,000  gallons  per  day  (or  over  60,000  per  hour) ; 
another  bore  in  the  same  province  yields  800,000 
gallons  per  day.  The  deepest  bore  is  at  Bimerah  in 
Queensland  :  it  goes  down  5,045  feet,  or  nearly  a 
mile.  The  well  which  gives  the  greatest  flow  is  that 
at  Charleville,  in  the  same  state,  which  averages  over 
3,000,000  gallons  per  day. 

The  cost  of  sinking  artesian  wells  in  London  does 
not  seem  to  be  at  all  prohibitive,  and  when  the 
ultimate  saving  is  taken  into  consideration  the  capital 
expenditure  usually  proves  to  have  been  well  laid  out. 
At  several  places  where  wells  have  been  sunk  the 
cost  is  said  not  to  exceed  3d.  per  1,000  gallons,  and 
even  when  compared  with  the  old  charge  of  the  now 
defunct  water  companies,  which  was  about  8d.  per 
1,000  gallons,  this  method  of  obtaining  water  is 
sufficiently  economical  to  warrant  the  sinking  of 
artesian  wells. 

A  leading  firm  of  well-engineers  in  Southwark, 
who  are  responsible  for  many  of  the  wells  lately 
sunk,  have  stated  that  about  twenty  wells  have 
recently  been  bored  in  the  City  and  thirteen  in  the 
West  End,  while  over  one  hundred  have  been  put 
down  in  the  metropolitan  area.  Most  of  this  work 
has  been  done  for  large  business  establishments,  such 
as  banks,  breweries,  public  baths,  co-operative  stores, 
hotels,  and  railway  companies. 

321  X 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

SHALLOW  OR  SURFACE  WELLS  AND  PUMPS 
OF  LONDON. 

AMONG  the  Returns  made  by  the  parochial  authorities  to 
the  Board  of  Trade  in  1872,  with  reference  to  the  supply 
of  water  in  the  metropolis,  is  one  giving  the  name,  position,  and 
depth,  where  known,  of  every  public  surface  well  within  the 
metropolis,  specifying  which  of  them  had  been  permanently 
closed  at  that  date.  The  list,  which  fills  several  pages,  is  too 
long  to  transcribe  at  length,  but  the  notes  here  following  include 
some  of  the  principal  public  wells  and  pumps  named  in  the 
Return,  besides  a  few  others  which,  for  some  unexplained 
reason,  are  omitted  from  it. 

Beginning  with  the  East  End.  In  the  parish  of  St.  George's- 
in-the-East,  there  were  two  public  pumps,  open  in  1872,  the 
date  of  the  Return,  viz.,  one  in  Wellclose  Square,  within  the 
enclosure,  and  not  accessible  to  the  public,  the  other  within  the 
churchyard  gates,  of  which  the  public  were  allowed  the  free 
use. 

In  the  district  of  Whitechapel  four  public  wells  were  known 
to  exist,  all  of  which,  when  the  Return  was  made,  were  on  the 
point  of  being  filled  up. 

Many  more  in  this  part  of  London  are  scheduled,  but  they 
need  not  be  specified  here.  Passing  on  then  towards  the  City, 
one  may  read  in  Strype  that  "  besides  those  waters  brought  into 
the  City  from  abroad  ;  it  affords  abundance  of  excellent  springs 
everywhere  within  itself,  the  waters  whereof  are  much 
commended  :  particularly  the  pump  at  St.  Martin's  Outwich 
Church  ;  the  pump  near  St.  Antholin's  Church  (Watling  Street) ; 
the    pump  in    St.   Paul's  Churchyard,  the  pump  in   Christ's 

325 


Appendix 

Hospital :  at  all  which   places,  and   others,   are    iron    dishes 
hanging,  for  the  use  of  strangers  to  drink  in." ' 

While  excavations  were  being  made  in  Shoreditch  in 
connection  with  the  electric  lighting  installation  (about  the  year 
1897),  an  old  well  was  disclosed,  which,  on  measurements  being 
taken,  was  found  to  be  20  feet  deep  and  a  yard  in  diameter, 
and  to  contain  7  feet  of  water.  There  were  found  in  the  well 
the  elm-wood  barrel  and  suction-pipe  of  a  pump.  Although 
unmistakably  of  ancient  date,  the  brickwork  was  remarkably 
clean  and  perfect ;  compact  and  mortared  towards  the  top,  but 
loose  towards  the  bottom  to  allow  the  water  to  percolate  into 
the  well.  The  well  was  under  the  pathway  in  the  High  Street, 
two  or  three  yards  from  the  entrance  to  the  Standard  Theatre, 
close  to  the  end  of  Holywell  Lane,  and  in  the  district  known  as 
the  Holywell  Liberty.  Unfortunately  the  well  was  filled  in  only 
three  hours  after  its  discovery,  in  order  not  to  delay  the  work  in 
hand  ;  so  that  no  further  investigations  could  be  made.=* 

In  the  Liberty  of  Norton  Folgate,  in  the  High  Street  opposite 
No.  32,  there  was  formerly  a  well  which  had  been  under  the 
control  of  the  Board  of  Works  for  the  Whitechapel  District 
since  1855,  but  was  closed  by  that  Board  about  1869  or  1870. 

Facing  Aldgate  3  High  Street,  at  the  point  where  Leadenhall 
Street  and  Fenchurch  Street  meet,  is  Aldgate  Pump.  This  old 
pump  is  a  well-known  landmark  of  the  City,  and  must  have  been 
a  very  familiar  object  to  the  antiquary,  John  Stow,  who  for 
nearly  thirty  years  was  a  working  tailor  in  the  neighbourhood  of 


^  Strype^s  "  Stow,"  1720,  Bk.  i.  p.  27. 

^  Extract  from  a  newspaper  cutting — undated — from  Pen- 
nant's "  London,"  1805,  vol.  iii.,  in  the  Guildhall  Library. 

3  Aldgate  is  commonly  supposed  to  be  identical  with  Old 
Gate,  but  Mr.  Loftie  states  that  in  a  document  in  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  which  must  have  been  written  before  11 15,  the 
name  is  spelt  Alegate  (Alegate=Allgate,  i.e.^  gate  for  all,  free 
of  toll).  The  d  was  inserted  from  a  mistaken  notion,  first  by 
Stow,  and  after  him  by  Dr.  Stukeley,  and  the  word  was  written 
Ealdgate,  which  is  equivalent  to  Oldgate,  not  Aldgate. 

326 


Appendix 


Leaden  Hall  and  Fenchurch  Street :  he  alludes  to  it  when  he  is 
describing  Aldgate  Ward,  the  principal  street  of  which,  he  says, 
"  beginneth  at  Aid  Gate,  stretching  west  to  sometime  a  fayre 
well,  where  now  a  pumpe  is  placed." 

Aldgate  Pump,  more  than  any  other,  seems  to  have  kept  a  firm 
hold  upon  the  popular  sentiment ;  the  origin  of  this  may 
probably  be  traced  back  to  the  fifteenth  century,  when  St. 
Michael's  Well  (so  called  from  the  neighbouring  chapel  of  that 
name)  occupied  nearly  the  same  spot.  It  is  most  likely  that 
medicinal  or  holy  virtues  were  claimed  for  the  waters  of  St. 
Michael's  Well.  A  pump  was  erected  over  the  well  probably 
about  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  a  row  of 
houses  on  each  side  had  formed  a  street.  Previous  to  this, 
Fenchurch  Street  extended  no  further  eastward  than  the  grave- 
yard of  St.  Katherine  Coleman,  nor  did  Leadenhall  Street  extend 
further  than  Cree  Lane.  The  space  between  the  terminations 
of  the  two  streets  was  occupied  by  mansions,  with  their  court- 
yards and  gardens.  Some  forty  years  ago  (i.e.j  in  the  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixties)  the  pump  was  moved  several  feet  further 
west,  when  the  frontage  of  the  property  at  the  corner  was  set 
back  to  broaden  the  thoroughfare.  The  well  of  Aldgate  was 
sunk  in  a  spit  of  the  gravel-bed  extending  northwards  to 
Winchmore  Hill.^  Owing  partly  to  the  imaginary  medicinal 
qualities  of  the  water,  and  perhaps  still  more  to  its  long-con- 
tinued use,  the  inhabitants  resented,  or  at  least  obstructed,  any 
proposals  which  were  made  for  the  removal  of  the  pump.  The 
continuance  of  its  use  by  the  public  was,  however,  shown  by 
chemical  analysis  to  be  attended  with  such  grave  risk  to  the 
public  health  that  the  well  was  in  1876  filled  in,  and  a  cistern 
below  the  ground  connected  with  the  New  River  supply  sub- 
stituted. Thus,  although  the  well  is  abolished,  Aldgate  Pump 
still  exists.  It  is  now  enclosed  in  a  stone  casing  of  four  sides, 
ornamented  by  bands  of  rustic  work,  and  having  a  little  gable 
roof :   the  spout  is  of  bronze  in  the  shape  of  a  dog's  head.' 


^  "  Antiquities  of  the  Ward  of  Aldgate,"  by  S.  T.  Robinson 
and  C.  Humphreys,  1871  ;  and  '*  Some  Notes  on  the  Ward  of 
Aldgate,"  by  R.  Kemp,  1904. 

^  The  previous  structure,  designed  by  Sir  William  Tite,  had 
to  make  way,  in  1870  or  1871,  for  the  one  described  above; 
(The  Builder  June  29,  1872.) 

327 


Appendix 


Some  of  the  older  maps  and  plans  mark  the  well  of  St.  Michael : 
the  little  pent-house  which  covered  it  is  shown  very  distinctly 
in  Agas's  map.  Views  of  the  pump  which  succeeded  it  are  not 
rare,  but  are  of  recent  date.  The  Grace  Collection  contains  a 
water-colour  drawing  of  it  by  T.  H.  Shepherd — undated,  but 
before  1853.^ 

Besides  the  above,  there  were  three  other  pumps  in  the  Ward 
of  Aldgate  ;  one  at  the  corner  of  the  Minories,  opposite  St. 
Botolph's  Church.  This  one  does  not  come  into  the  1872 
Return,  but  some  time  before  its  publication  the  dismantling  of 
the  pump  had  begun  by  the  removal  of  the  handle  and  the 
breaking  of  the  nozzle.  In  spite  of  repeated  and  costly  attempts, 
no  sample  of  the  water  from  the  surface  well  in  connection  with 
it  was  obtained. 

In  the  churchyard  of  St.  Katherine  Coleman,  which  is  situated 
a  little  to  the  south  of  Fenchurch  Street  and  east  of  Mark  Lane, 
was  a  well  of  unknown  depth,  but  believed  to  be  very  deep,  and 
in  all  probability  of  ancient  date,  the  site  of  the  present  church 
having  been  occupied  by  one  of  fifteenth-century  age. 

Another  well  in  Aldgate  Ward,  under  30  feet  in  depth,  with  a 
pump  over  it,  stood  opposite  Church  Row,  Fenchurch  Street, 
directly  in  front  of  the  ''East  India  Arms"  public-house,  and 
was  open  at  the  date  of  the  Return.  There  used  to  be  a  mark 
on  the  kerbstone,  showing  where  the  pump  stood.  The 
immediate  cause  of  its  removal  was  owing  to  the  main  drain 
deep  sewer  having  completely  exhausted  its  supply.  The  pump 
is  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  map  of  1873-75. 

There  was  a  well  in  Crutched  Friars  as  far  back  as  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Povah,  in  his  "  Annals  of  the 
Parish  of  St.  Olave,  Hart  Street "  (1904)  gives  an  extract  from 
the  Burial  Register,  which  bears  this  out.  The  entry  runs 
thus  : — 

"  1564,  Aug.  9.  Maister  Gallierd  dwelling  over  against  the 
well  not  far  from  the  Crochet  Friars." 

The  well  here  referred  to  was  in  the  middle  of  the  highway 


'  "A  draft  (draught)  on  Aldgate  Pump"  was  a  mercantile 
phrase  for  a  bad  note  (Fielding's  Works),  "Essay  on  the 
Character  of  Men,"  vol.  viii.  p.  172. 

328 


Appendix 


at  the  south  or  lower  end  of  Jewry  Street,  which  is  a  continua- 
tion of  Crutched  Friars'  to  Aldgate. 

Stow  notices  the  same  well  or  pump,  when  he  describes  the 
boundaries  of  the  parish  of  St.  Olave  :  "  So  returning  againe, 
they  goe  up  towards  Aldgate  on  the  east  side,  so  far  as  directly 
against  the  signe  of  the  Cocke,  returning  back  on  the  west  side, 
to  the  pumpe  in  Crochet  Friars,  and  then  to  the  place  where 
they  began."  = 

The  modern  pump  is  shown  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  map  of 
1873-75,  o^  the  west  side  of  Crutched  Friars,  nearly  opposite 
George  Street. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  Tower  glacis  garden  there  was  a 
well,  27  feet  deep,  with  an  iron  pump  over  it,  which,  the  Return 
states:  "though  now  out  of  order,  will  shortly  be  repaired." 
This  was  of  great  use  for  the  garden,  and  having  a  spout  into 
Postern  Row,  was  also  a  great  convenience  to  the  inhabitants  in 
the  vicinity. 

Replying  to  a  recent  inquiry  made  by  the  writer  as  to  when 
the  well  was  closed,  &c.,  the  Secretary  of  the  Office  of  Works 
states,  in  a  letter  dated  October  27,  1909  :  "  The  Board  have  no 
definite  information  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  well.  The  pump 
was  put  up  by  Phillips  and  Hop  wood  in  1801  (as  inscribed  on 
it)  ;  but  it  is  not  known  when  its  use  was  discontinued."  3  It 
now  (1909)  stands  at  the  top  of  the  bank  within  the  garden 
railings,  in  or  near  its  original  position.  Drinking  water  is 
supplied  from  a  small  drinking-fountain  in  the  gardens  just 
below,  and  this  is  drawn  from  the  mains. 

An  engraving  of  the  Mint  in  Hughson's  "  London  "  (1806-09, 
vol.  ii.)  brings  in  part  of  the  Tower  glacis  overlooking  the  moat, 
and  on  the  left  of  the  picture  is  the  pump.  It  is  also  marked  on 
the  Ordnance  Survey  map  of  1873-75. 


«  Crutched  Friars — so  called  after  the  building  of  the  Great 
Monastery  of  the  brethren  of  the  holy  cross ;  Crouched  or 
Crossed  Friars,  distinguished  by  the  cross  upon  their  dress. 
The  street  in  the  fourteenth  century  was  known  as  Hart  Street. 

^  Stow's  "  Survey,"  Strype's,  1720,  vol.  i.  Bk.  2,  p.  41. 

3  The  removal  of  the  houses  known  as  Postern  Row,  between 
1883  and  1887,  was  probably  about  the  time  that  this  pump 
ceased  to  be  used. 

329 


Appendix 


The  following  description  annexed  to  the  Return  applies  to  a 
well,  23  feet  deep  (open  in  1872),  in  front  of  the  doorway  of  St. 
Dunstan's  Chambers,  at  the  corner  of  St.  Dunstan's  Alley,  in 
Idol  Lane,  near  the  Church  of  St.  Dunstan's-in-the-East :  ''  The 
soil  is  gravel,  and  at  the  bottom  is  placed  chalk  to  the  depth  of 
one  foot,  which  is  occasionally  taken  out  and  cleaned.  The 
water  is  considered  so  good  that  the  fishermen  from  Billingsgate 
are  in  the  habit  of  filling  their  casks  with  it  to  take  to  sea ; 
besides  being  much  used  in  the  neighbourhood." 

About  the  year  1873  there  was  a  discussion  in  the  vestry  as  to 
sinking  an  artesian  well  for  the  supply  of  water  in  place  of  the 
pump  ;  but  it  was  found  to  be  too  costly,  and  the  scheme  was 
never  carried  out'  Subsequently  the  well  was  closed  and  the 
pump  was  moved  to  where  it  now  stands  in  the  churchyard  of 
St.  Dunstan,  against  the  south  wall  of  the  church.  It  is  cast  in 
the  shape  of  a  fluted  column  and  has  the  date  18 1 8  inscribed 
on  it. 

In  Leadenhall  Hides  Market  there  was  a  well  about  30  feet 
deep.  It  is  thus  referred  to  in  the  Return  :  '^  This  well  some 
years  ago  lost  water  owing,  as  is  supposed,  to  the  deepening  of 
the  sewers  and  the  extensive  excavations  for  the  large  buildings 
in  the  vicinity."  A  pump  is  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Survey 
map  (1873-75)  in  the  position  mentioned  above. 

In  the  Leaden  Hall  ^  proper  was  another  well  of  the  same 
depth  as  the  last.  "  This  well  was  sunk  in  the  fifteenth  century 
within  the  Hall,  and  subsequently  a  pump  was  put  up  in  Half 
Moon  Passage,  but  the  water  has  in  like  manner  gone,  and  the 
well  is  now  out  of  use." 


'  This  information  was  obtained  through  the  kindness  of  Mr. 
J.  E.  Shearman,  M.A.,  Vestry  Clerk  of  St.  Dunstan^s. 

2  Stow  says  of  Leaden  Hall:  ''I  read  that  in  the  year  1309 
it  belonged  to  Sir  Hugh  Nevill,  Knight."  The  researches  of 
Mr.  Riley  show  that  the  Hall  belonged  to  the  City  as  early  as 
1320.  It  was  converted  into  a  granary,  and  probably  a  market, 
by  Sir  Simon  Eyre  (or,  in  mediaeval  rolls,  Symken  Eyer),  a 
draper,  and  Lord  Mayor  of  London  in  1445.  The  portion  of 
the  market  in  question,  viz.,  the  Leadenhall  Street  end,  was 
rebuilt  in  1881. 

330 


A.S.  Foord  fecit. 

PUMP  IN   CHURCHYARD   OF   ST.   DUNSTAN-IN-THE-EAST. 

From  an  original  sketch  by  the  author  (1909). 


To  face  p.  330. 


Appendix 


The  setting  up  of  a  pump  in  Lime  Street  Ward  is  thus 
recounted  by  Stow :  *'  In  the  year  1576,  partly  at  the  charges  of 
the  parish  of  St.  Andrew  (Undershaft),  and  partly  at  the  charges 
of  the  Chamber  of  London,  a  water  pumpe  was  raised  in  the 
high  streete  of  Limestreete  Warde  {i.e.,  Leadenhall  Street), 
near  unto  Limestreete  Corner  :  for  the  placing  of  which  pumpe 
.  .  .  they  were  forced  to  dig  more  than  two  fadome.  .  .  . 
Having  set  up  the  pumpe,  with  oft-repairing  and  great  charges 
to  the  Parish  (it)  continued  not  four  and  twenty  yeares,  but 
being  rotted,  was  taken  up,  and  a  new  set  in  place,  in  the  yeare 
1600." ' 

By  the  Church  of  St.  Martin  Outwich,  formerly  standing  at 
the  east  corner  of  Threadneedle  Street,  facing  Bishopsgate 
Street,  there  was  an  old  well,  of  unknown  depth,  which  was 
permanently  closed  about  the  year  1862.  Its  position  is  said  by 
Stow  to  have  been  over  against  the  east  end  of  the  church,  and 
that  it  had  two  buckets  so  fastened  that  the  drawing  up  of  the 
one  let  down  the  other  ;  ''  but  now  of  late  turned  into  a  pumpe.'' 
The  church  was  pulled  down  in  1874,  and  the  site  is  now 
occupied  by  the  head  office  of  the  Capital  and  Counties  Bank. 

In  Allen's  "  History  of  London "  (1827-29)  there  is  an  en- 
graving of  the  pump  in  the  position  described  by  Stow  ;  it  is 
a  plain  square  structure,  with  a  lamp  on  the  top  ;  the  date  is 
1794.  Godwin  and  Britton's  work  on  the  "  Churches  of  London  " 
(1839)  shows  that  this  had  been  replaced  by  one  of  rather 
uncommon  shape,  which  might  have  been  copied  from  a  classic 
model. 

In  Bishopsgate  Street  Without  there  was  also  a  pump,  which 
stood  on  the  edge  of  the  pavement  in  front  of  the  Church  of 
St.  Botolph.  At  the  Bishopsgate  Institute  and  Free  Library 
there  is  a  large,  well  executed  engraving  of  the  church,  drawn 
and  etched  by  A.  P.  Moore,  and  aquatinted  by  G.  Hawkins,  the 
date  of  publication  being  1802.  In  this  picture,  the  pump,  being 
in  deep  shadow,  cannot  be  made  out  very  clearly.  In  another 
smaller  and  less  pretentious  print  it  is  seen  to  be  of  the  ordinary 
square  shape,  panelled  on  the  sides,  and  with  a  drinking  trough. 


^  Stow's  "  Survey,"  text  of  1603.      Ed.  by  C.  L.  Kingsford, 
1908,  vol.  i.  p.  i6o. 

331 


Appendix 


No  mention  is  made  of  this  pump  in  the  1872  Return,  but  it  is 
marked  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  maps  of  1873-75. 

It  was  in  existence  in  1878,  as  reference  is  made  to  it  in  a 
communication  received  by  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers, 
reported  at  their  meeting  of  January  22nd  in  that  year,  from 
the  Metropolitan  Drinking  Fountain  and  Cattle  Trough  Asso- 
ciation, who  proposed  to  remove  the  iron  troughs  from  the 
pumps  in  Cornhill  and  Bishopsgate  Street,  and  to  provide 
granite  troughs  with  self-acting  apparatus  for  the  supply  of 
water,  &c.  (the  City  Press).  It  is  probable  that  the  well 
supplying  the  pump  had  been  filled  in  before  this  time,  in 
accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  Commissioners  of 
Sewers  addressed  to  all  the  ward  and  parochial  authorities 
in  1875. 

A  stand-pipe  now  indicates  the  spot  where  the  pump  formerly 
stood. 

On  the  west  side  of  Gracechurch  Street,  in  Bell  Yard,  there 
was  a  well,  with  a  depth  of  about  30  feet.  The  pump  over  it 
stood  in  front  of  the  Bell  Tavern — an  old  house,  having  the 
date  1827  on  a  bell  which  is  built  into  the  wall  of  the  house 
between  the  upper  windows.  The  remarks  in  the  Return  are 
these:  "The  water  from  this  well  has  recently  {i.e.,  before  1872), 
been  withdrawn  from  it  because  of  some  interference  with  the 
sewer  in  Gracechurch  Street.  The  Ordnance  Survey  map  of 
1873-75  indicates  the  spot  where  the  pump  stood. 

A  well  was  open  in  1872  under  the  roadway  of  Cornhill,  nearly 
midway  between  No.  24  and  27,  about  30  feet  in  depth.  **  The 
well," the  Return  states,  "in  April,  1871,  had  about  14  feet  of 
water  in  it,  but  later,  i.e.,  in  August  and  September  of  the  same 
year,  there  were  only  about  3  feet  of  water  in  it,  at  which 
depth  the  water  would  not  rise  into  the  pipe." 

At  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Royal  Exchange,  standing 
on  the  edge  of  the  kerb,  with  a  granite  drinking  trough  ^  in 
front  of  it,  is   Cornhill  pump.    It  will  repay  a  few  moments* 


*  These  were  formerly  of  iron,  but  about  thirty  years  ago 
they  were,  in  some  cases,  removed,  and  granite  troughs  with 
self-acting  apparatus  provided. 

332 


Appendix 


inspection.  The  case  is  an  ornamental  obelisk  of  iron,  having 
at  the  bottom,  but  now  hidden  by  the  trough,  the  name  "  Nathaniel 
Wright,  Architect"  ;  the  founders  being  Messrs.  Phillips  and 
Hopwood — makers,  it  will  be  remembered,  of  the  pump  in 
the  Tower  gardens.  The  decorations  consist  of  emblematical 
figures  in  relief,  three  of  which  are  the  badges  of  old-estab- 
lished Fire  Offices,  representing  respectively  the  '^  Sun,"  the 
"  Phoenix,"  and  the  "  London  Assurance."  The  fourth  repre- 
sents the  second  Royal  Exchange.  The  side  which  faces  the 
roadway  bears  the  following  very  interesting  inscription : 
"On  this  spot  a  well  was  made,  and  a  House  of  Correction' 
built  thereon  by  Henry  Wallis,*  Mayor  of  London,  in  the 
year  1282."  Further  details  are  given  on  the  side  facing  the 
pavement :  '*  The  well  was  discovered,  and  enlarged,  and  this 
pump  erected  in  the  year  1799,  by  the  contributions  of  the 
Bank  of  England,  the  East  India  Company,  the  neighbouring 
Fire  Offices,  together  with  the  Bankers  and  Traders  of  the 
Ward  of  Cornhill."  The  well  had  been  laid  open  by  a  sinking 
of  the  pavement  in  front  of  the  Royal  Exchange,  March  16, 
1799. 

A  correspondent  of  the  City  PresSj  of  August,  21,  1875,  writes  : 
"  I  remember  the  time  when  the  Cornhill^Pump  was  besieged 
by  quite  a  little  crowd  of  persons  with  cans,  bottles,  &c.,  to 
get  some  pure  spring  water."  It  may  be  doubted  if  this  defi- 
nition was  not  too  flattering,  for  even  then  the  purity  of  some  of 
the  shallow- well  waters  of  London  had  been  called  in  question. 

The  well  and  pump  have  been  disused  for  some  years  past ; 
the  water  which  fills  the  trough,  so  much  enjoyed  by  the  thirsty 
horses  of  passing  vehicles,  being  derived  from  the  New  River 
Company's  mains.  The  iron  case  of  the  pump  remains,  but 
deprived  of  handle  and  spout.  The  whole  structure  would  be 
much  the  better  for  a  coat  of  paint,  which  would  not  only 
improve  its  appearance,  but  would  also  tend  to  arrest  decay. 

The  pump  is  figured  in  Mr.  Charles  Welch's  '*  Modern  History 
of  the  City  of  London"  (1896)  :  the  reproduction  apparently 


»  From  its  fancied  resemblance  to  a  large  cask  standing  on 
end,  this  building  was  nicknamed  the  Tonne  (Tun). 

'  In  old  documents  the  spelling  is  very  varied — *'  le  Galeys," 
*'  le  Waleys,"  and  "  le  WaHes "  ;  showing  the  influence  of  the 
Norman- French  language  on  surnames. 

333 


Appendix 


copied  from  a  print  in  the  Grace  Collection  (No.  1972),  Rawle 
del.  et  sculp.,  1800.  There  is  also  a  photograph  of  it,  as  it 
appears  to-day,  in  an  entertaining  little  book  of  "  Old  London 
Memorials,"  by  Mr.  W.  J.  Roberts  (1909). 

The  handsome  drinking  fountain  in  the  open  space  at  the  east 
end  of  the  Royal  Exchange,  in  front  of  the  Peabody  statue,  was 
erected  in  1878  by  the  authorities  of  Broad  Street  Ward  to 
supply  the  place  of  the  pump  in  Bartholomew  Lane,  the  use  of 
which  was  interdicted  by  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers,  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health,  in  his  report 
of  1875.  The  Bartholomew  Lane  site  being  too  circumscribed, 
the  Commissioners  sanctioned  the  erection  of  the  fountain  at 
the  northern  end  of  Royal  Exchange  Avenue.  The  main  por- 
tion of  the  fountain  is  of  Penryn  granite,  and  has  four  basins  ; 
the  canopy  over  the  white  marble  group  (sculptured  by  Mr. 
Dalon,  of  Chelsea),  is  of  bronze.  Mr.  J.  S.  Edmeston  was  the 
architect,  and  the  Drinking  Fountain  Association  supplied  the 
hydraulic  work. 

A  full-page  engraving  of  this  fountain  occurs  in  the  Builder  of 
April  6,  1878. 

The  pump  in  Bartholomew  Lane  \vas  at  one  time  much  used 
by  the  people  of  the  neighbourhood,  who  trusted  implicitly  in  its 
water,  as  appears  from  a  letter  to  the  City  Press  of  October  23^ 
1875,  which  was  only  a  short  time  before  its  removal.  During 
the  later  years  of  its  existence  it  was  also  used  by  the  cabmen  to 
water  their  horses.  From  its  position  in  a  side  street,  away  from 
the  main  thoroughfare,  it  was  never  so  important  as  those  more 
centrally  placed.  Where  the  pump  stood  is  a  square  pillar  letter- 
box, and  in  front  of  it  a  stand-pipe  for  the  use  of  the  few  horse- 
cabs  on  the  rank  ;  placed  there  in  1877,  at  the  request  of  occu- 
piers of  premises  in  Bartholomew  Lane  and  neighbourhood,  in 
substitution  of  the  water  from  the  pump. 

The  position  of  the  '<  Guildhall "  or  "  Corporation  "  pump  was 
in  Guildhall  Buildings,  between  the  Court  of  King^s  Bench  (now 
the  Lord  Mayor's  Court)  and  the  Bankruptcy  Court,  which  has 
been  superseded  by  a  large  block  of  offices,  built  in  1890.  The 
depth  of  the  well  was  about  50  feet.  It  was  not  permanently 
closed  in  1872,  but  the  handle  of  the  pump  had  been  taken  away, 
rendering  it,  of  course,  unusable.  Not  being  among  those 
reported  upon  by  the  Medical  Officer  in  1875,  it  had  probably 
been  already  removed. 

334 


Appendix 


The  Parish  Pump  of  St.  Michael  Bassishaw '  stood  on  the  foot- 
way opposite  No.  i8,  Basinghall  Street,  by  the  Guildhall  Library. 
It  was  placed  there  under  a  bequest  of  one  John  Bankes,  who, 
in  1630,  made  an  endowment  of  13s.  4d.  a  year  for  keeping  the 
pump  in  repair.  The  well  beneath  it  was  about  30  feet  in  depth. 
The  pump  was  open  in  1872,  and  was  at  that  time  enclosed  in 
the  hoardings  around  the  buildings  of  the  City  Library,  which 
was  opened  on  November  5th  of  the  same  year.  The  pump 
was  finally  removed  in  1876  by  the  parish  authorities  of  St. 
Michael  Bassishaw,  at  the  request  of  the  late  Commissioners  of 
Sewers,  "  as  an  obstruction  and  hindrance  to  the  public  going."  * 

Against  the  Church  of  St.  Olave,  Jewry,  which  was  situated  on 
the  west  side  of  the  Old  Jewry,  was  a  pump  over  a  well  of  unknown 
depth.  This  had  been  closed  before  the  Return  was  made.  The 
old  church  (destroyed  in  the  Great  Fire)  was  named  St.  Olave, 
Upwell,  from  the  presence  of  a  well  under  the  east  end  of  the 
church,  which  was  pulled  down  in  1888.  The  tower  has  been 
preserved  and  is  used  as  the  rectory  house  to  St.  Margaret, 
Lothbury. 

In  Russia  Row,  Honey  Lane  Market,  within  the  railings  that 
enclosed  the  City  of  London  School  on  the  north  side,  was  a  well 
with  a  pump  over  it,  which  is  understood  to  have  been  closed 
some  years  before  1872.  Depth  not  known.  The  school,  it  may 
be  noted,  was  removed  to  a  site  on  the  Victoria  Embankment  in 
1882  ;  the  new  school  was  opened  in  1883,  and  the  freehold 
building  of  the  old  school  was  sold  privately  in  the  same  year. 
The  site  is  occupied  by  Milk  Street  Buildings.  The  writer  was 
recently  informed  by  the  secretary  of  the  school  that  no  record 
had  been  kept  of  the  year  in  which  the  well  was  closed. 

The  pump  is  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  map  of  1873-75. 

In  the  churchyard  of  St.  Mary-le-Bow,  Cheapside,  within  the 
raiHngs  on  the  west  side  of  the  church,  and  having  a  pump  over 


*  The  town  residence  of  the  Basing  family,  known  as  Basing's- 
haw,  or  hall,  gave  its  name  to  the  street.  Solomon  Basing  was 
Mayor  of  London  in  1216.  The  Bankruptcy  Court  was  built  in 
1820  on  the  site  of  the  old  mansion. 

*  These  details  were  kindly  furnished  by  Mr.  P.  W.  Bicknell, 
of  the  PubHc  Health  Department,  Guildhall. 

335 


Appendix 


it,  was  a  well  about  32  feet  deep.  The  site  is  occupied  by  a 
pillar  letter-box.   There  is  no  other  well  known  of  in  this  parish. 

In  the  vestry  is  a  model  of  the  church,  designed  and  executed 
in  wood,  about  seventy  years  ago,  by  John  Watts,  who  was 
sexton  of  the  church  from  1835  to  1859.  It  was  presented  to 
the  church  by  his  son.  The  pump  is  shown  in  the  model  in  the 
place  it  occupied  close  to  the  wall  of  the  church.  It  also 
appears  in  a  water-colour  drawing  of  Bow  Church,  by  G. 
Shepherd,  1812  (Grace  Cat.,  No.  1850),  which  is  reproduced  in  a 
history  of  the  fabric  by  the  Rev.  A.  W.  Hutton,  M.A.,  the 
present  rector. 

After  the  pump  had  been  condemned  by  the  sanitary  authori- 
ties, a  drinking  fountain  was  erected  by  Messrs.  Copestake, 
Moore,  Crampton  and  Co.,  of  Bow  Churchyard,  on  November  4, 
1859,  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  church,  next  to  Bow  Lane. 

Describing  the  boundaries  of  Cripplegate  Ward,  Stow  says, 
the  ward  "  runneth  west  to  a  pumpe  where  of  old  there  was  a 
fayre  well  with  two  buckets,  at  the  south  corner  of  Alderman 
burie  Streete.''  The  well  is  shown  on  Agas's  map,  at  the 
meeting  of  the  Old  Jewry  (which  at  that  time  was  of  greater 
extent),  Milk  Street,  Lad  Lane,  and  Aldermanbury. 

Strype  defines  Little  Britain  (which,  according  to  Stow,  took 
that  name  ''  of  the  Dukes  of  Brittany  lodging  there  "),  as  coming 
out  of  Aldersgate  Street  by  St.  Botolph's  Church  and  running 
west  to  a  pump,  where  it  opens  into  a  broad  street,  and  then 
as  turning  northwards  to  Duck  Lane  (Duke  Street),  where  it  has 
a  passage  to  St.  Bartholomew's  Hospital.  In  the  latter  part  of 
the  seventeenth,  and  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Little 
Britain  was  much  inhabited  by  booksellers,  especially  from  the 
pump  to  Duck  Lane,  and  at  that  time  was  a  great  emporium  of 
learned  authors.  The  shop  of  Edward  Ballard  (one  of  the  last 
surviving  booksellers  of  the  eighteenth-century  school),  bearing 
the  sign  of  the  "  Globe,"  stood  over  against  the  pump.  Later 
still  Washington  Irving,  wandering  contemplatively  in  Little 
Britain,  gives  an  admirable  picture  of  that  ancient  mart  of 
bibliopoUsts  in  his  "  Sketch  Book." 

There  seem  to  be  no  later  references  to  this  pump,  though  it 
would  appear  that  one  existed  here  down  to  the  nineteenth 
century,  but  which  has  disappeared  long  since.  No  pump  is 
marked  hereabouts  on  the  maps  of  the  Ordnance  Survey. 

336 


Appendix 


On  the  east  side  of  Aldersgate  Street  was  Fannys  Alley,  just 
without  the  Bars  ;  ^  the  entrance,  says  Maitland  (1739),  "  broad 
enough  for  carts,  and  but  indifferently  built  and  inhabited." 
The  Alley  thus  referred  to  was  in  due  time  widened  and 
improved  by  rebuilding,  and  became  Fann  Street.  A  peculiarity 
about  this  street  is  that  its  south  side  is  in  the  City,  while  its 
north  side  is  in  the  Borough  of  Finsbury  ;  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion passing  down  the  middle  of  the  street. 

After  much  inquiry  and  record  searching,  the  writer  has 
been  unsuccessful  in  fixing  the  exact  position  of  the  pump  here, 
but  if  the  memory  of  an  old  inhabitant  of  the  district  can  be 
trusted,  it  stood  at  the  Aldersgate  Street  end  of  Fann  Street. 
This  pump  was  one  of  the  four  reported  upon  by  Dr.  Saunders 
in  1875,  which  led  to  its  being  ultimately  condemned  and 
removed.  For  some  time  before  this,  however,  the  water  was 
considered  dangerous,  and  there  was  considerable  difficulty  in 
preventing  children  and  others  from  pumping  and  drinking  the 
water.  As  if  to  compensate  the  inhabitants  for  the  loss  of  their 
pump,  Mr.  Alderman  Besley,  the  Alderman  of  the  Ward  of 
Aldersgate,  who  died  December  17,  1876,  provided  in  his  will 
for  the  setting  up  of  two  drinking  fountains  ;  these,  in  the 
words  of  the  testator,  were  "to  be  erected  and  placed  flat 
against  the  two  City  boundary  posts — at  a  cost  not  exceeding 
six  hundred  pounds."  These  two  fountains  are  identical  in 
design,  and  consist  of  obeHsks  built  of  grey  granite  and  other 
coloured  stones,  each  having  a  lamp  on  the  top,  and  two  basins. 
An  inscription  on  them  records  the  gift. 

In  the  parish  of  St.  John,  Clerkenwell,  a  well  in  Ray  Street, 
with  a  pump  near  it,  and  connected  with  it,  was  open  in  1856 
and  closed  in  1857.  It  was  15  feet  deep,  and  was  called 
*'  Clerks'  Well,"  being  in  fact  one  of  the  three  wells  mentioned 
by  FitzStephen  in  his  description  of  London  in  the  twelfth 
century. 

In  the  Holborn  district  there  were,  besides  others  of  less  note, 
the  following  wells,  all  provided  with  pumps  for  raising  the 


* "  A  pair  of  postes,"  as  Stow  calls  them,  which  marked  the 
City  boundary  in  that  direction.  The  name  of  Aldersgate  Bars, 
by  which  they  were  known,  long  continued  in  use,  and  is 
marked  on  old  plans  of  the  Ward,  but  it  is  now  obsolete. 

337  Y 


Appendix 


water,  viz.  :  In  the  centre  of  the  crossing  between  Gloucester 
Street  and  Devonshire  Street,  a  well  23  feet  deep.  In  Gray's 
Inn  Road,  at  the  corner  of  Queen's  Head  Court,  was  another, 
25  feet  in  depth  ;  and  in  Red  Lion  Square  at  the  eastern  end  of 
the  garden,  which  occupies  the  centre,  was  a  well  20  feet  deep. 
These  are  all  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  Map  of  1873-75. 

The  parish  of  St.  Clement  Danes  contained  three  public 
wells  :  One  at  New  Inn  I  (which  adjoins  Clement's  Inn) — depth, 
25  feet ;  another  in  front  of  Clement's  Inn  Hall — depth 
unknown  ;  the  remarks  upon  this  well  in  the  Return  are  that 
there  had  been  no  water  in  it  for  eight  years  {i.e.^  since  1864). 
This  was  the  far-famed  "  holy  "  well  of  St.  Clement.  A  third 
was  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  churchyard  of  St.  Clement 
Danes — of  unknown  depth,  which,  at  the  date  of  the  Return 
(1872),  had  been  closed  for  nearly  twenty  years,  or  about  1853 
or  1854.  It  is  marked  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  maps  of 
1873-5- 

Within  the  Liberty  of  the  Rolls,  there  was  formerly  a  well  in 
Chancery  Lane,  between  the  houses  numbered  89  and  90  re- 
spectively ;  it  was  about  18  feet  deep.  The  escape  of  gas  from 
the  mains  having  affected  the  water,  the  then  Paving  Board  of 
the  Rolls  Liberty,  about  the  year  1847,  closed  the  well  and  had 
it  filled  up.  At  the  same  time  they  caused  another  well  to  be 
sunk  in  Breams  Buildings,  erecting  a  pump.  This  was  open  in 
1872,  and  in  use  by  the  public,  and  was  about  18  feet  deep.  It 
is  shown  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  map  of  1873-75  on  the  north 
side  of  Breams  Buildings,  near  St.  Thomas's  Church. 

In  the  precinct  of  the  Savoy,  on  the  east  side  of  Savoy  Street, 
at  the  back  of  No.  7,  Lancaster  Place,  a  well  existed  which  was 
closed  about  the  year  1869,  on  account  of  a  threatened  visitation 
of  cholera.  The  pump  is  still  (1909)  in  situ  and  bears  this 
inscription  upon  it :  "  Repaired  by  the  Commissioners  for 
Paving  Savoy  Precinct,  1842.  John  Cochran,  Chapel  Warden." 
The  pump  is  of  cast  iron,  painted  red,  octagonal  in  shape,  and 
the  sides  panelled  by  way  of  ornament. 

In  parishes  of  St.  Anne  and  St.  James,  Westminster,  were 
several  wells  all  permanently  closed  when  the  return  was  issued : 

338 


Appendix 


one  in  the  former  parish,  opposite  to  the  parish  church  in  Dean 
Street,  very  deep,  was  closed  about  1856. 

The  pump  in  Great  Dean's  Yard,  about  1870,  was  an  unpre- 
tending iron  structure,  without  ornamental  details  of  any  kind  ; 
but  happily  for  those  who  lived  near  it,  and  for  St.  Peter's 
College  (better  known  as  Westminster  School),  it  was  always 
ready  with  its  best  of  spring  water.  But  between  the  years 
1870  and  1872  it  ran  dry. 

South  of  the  Thames.  There  was  a  well  on  the  north  side  of 
St.  Thomases  Street,  in  front  of  St.  Thomas's  (old)  Hospital. 

In  Bermondsey.  When  the  Return  was  made  there  were  no 
wells  in  this  parish  open  to  the  public  and  used  for  drinking. 
The  only  pubhc  wells  in  the  parish,  as  far  as  could  be  ascer- 
tained, were  at  Valentine  Place,  Long  Lane,  Marigold  Court, 
Star  Corner,  but  these  had  all  been  closed  many  years. 

In  the  parish  of  St.  George  the  Martyr,  there  were  about 
thirteen  wells,  but  these  were  closed  by  the  Vestry  since  the 
passing  of  the  MetropoHs  Management  Act  of  1855. 

In  a  report  by  Dr.  W.  Sedgwick  Saunders  (Medical  Officer  of 
Health)  on  some  chemical  analyses,  which  he  had  made,  of  the 
waters  from  the  surface  wells  and  pumps  remaining  in  the  City 
of  London,  and  presented  to  the  Commissioners  of  Sewers  in 
1875,  he  states  that  there  were  at  that  time  only  four  pumps  to 
which  the  public  had  free  access  in  the  City  of  London,  namely, 
at  Aldgate,  Bartholomew  Lane,  Crutched  Friars,  and  Fann 
Street.  These  were  all  that  remained  of  the  thirty-five  public 
pumps  which  were  in  use  in  the  City  in  1866  (the  year  of 
cholera),  some  having  been  condemned  by  Dr.  Saunders's  pre- 
decessor, and  closed  by  the  local  authorities,  whilst  others  had 
become  dry  by  the  construction  of  the  deep  sewers  and  sub- 
ways, which  utterly  exhausted  the  sources  of  the  supplies  to  the 
surface  wells  in  connection  with  them. 

Some  years  later,  in  1886,  in  the  course  of  a  discussion  in  the 
Commission  of  Sewers,  on  the  water  supply  of  the  City,  Dr. 
Saunders  said  that  for  the  last  twelve  years  no  well  had  been 
closed  of  a  greater  depth  than  30  feet.  These  wells  had  been 
practically  closed  by  basements  and  the  Underground  Railway. 

Only  a  few  words  need  be  said  here  in  reference  to  the 
results  of  the  chemical  examination  to  which  Dr.  Saunders 
submitted  the  water  from  the  City  pumps.    A  glance  at  the 

339 


Appendix 


table  drawn  up  by  him  shows  that  the  specimens  taken  from 
the  four  pumps  above  mentioned  are  polluted  with  albuminoid 
ammonia  (most  probably  of  organic  origin),  in  poisonous 
quantities. 

The  whole  of  Dr.  Saunders's  table  of  analyses  is  not  given,  but 
the  extract  below  will  be  sufficient  to  show  the  marked  contrast 
between  the  samples  of  good  and  bad  waters.  He  explains 
that  the  variations  noticed  in  the  different  samples  of  the  same 
water  depend  upon  the  time  passed  between  the  drawing  of  the 
water  from  the  well  and  its  analysis,  upon  the  state  of  the  rain- 
fall, and  upon  other  circumstances. 

Analyses  of  Waters  from  the  City  Pumps,  from  Samples 
Operated  Upon  by  Dr.  Saunders  in  His  Laboratory  at 
Various  Periods,  and  in  Different  Weathers,  During  the 
Year  1875  :— 


Grains  per  Gallon. 

Parts  per  Million. 

Free 

Albuminoid 

Solids. 

Chlorine. 

Ammonia. 

Ammonia. 

Good. 

New  River  Company   ... 

177 

1*1 

O'OO 

o'o6 

Thames 

i8-5 

1*2 

CGI 

o-o6 

Bad. 

Aldgate  Pump 

103 

10*5 

072 

0*I2 

Aldgate  Pump 

108 

9*4 

0-48 

o-o8 

Aldgate  Pump 

not  taken 

IO-5 

0-25 

0-26 

Bartholomew  Lane 

42 

4'3 

r8o 

o-o8 

Bartholomew  Lane 

50 

4*1 

1-40 

o-o8 

Crutched  Friars 

73 

4*3 

0*04 

O'lO 

Fann  Street        

142 

9*9 

2'20 

0*22 

Dr.  W.  Collingridge,  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health  for  the 
City,  kindly  communicated  to  the  writer  the  following  notes, 
which  describe  how  the  last  of  the  pumps  were  finally  dealt 
with. 

As  the  result  of  Dr.  Saunders's  report  in  1875  the  late  Com- 
missioners of  Sewers  passed  the  following  resolution  on 
November  2nd  of  that  year  : — 

"That  a  copy  of  the  Medical  Ofiicer's  report  of  the  19th  of 
October  in  relation  to  Pumps  be  sent  to  the  Deputy  of  each  Ward 

340 


Appendix 


and  to  the  Churchwardens  of  the  Parishes  in  the  City  where 
such  Pumps  are  situated,  with  a  letter  pointing  their  attention 
to  the  expediency  of  having  the  said  Pumps  closed,  and  warning 
them  of  the  danger  that  may  arise  from  the  water  being  used 
for  drinking  purposes  and  that  the  Committee  be  authorised  to 
investigate  the  condition  of  the  Wells  with  the  sanction  of  the 
proper  authorities." 

This  resulted  in  the  closing  of  the  wells  mentioned  in  the 
report,  viz.,  Fann  Street,  Bartholomew  Lane,  Crutched  Friars, 
and  Aldgate. 


341 


INDEX 


Acton  Wells,  156-158 

"Adam  and  Eve"  Tavern,  St.  Pancras,  80 

Agas'  Map  of  London,  33,  43,  65,  103 

Agnes  le  Clair,  108 

Aldermanbury  Church  (St.  Mary  the  Virgin),  266 

Aldermanbury,  Pump  in,  336 

Aldersgate  Street,  Drinking  fountains  in,  337 

Aldgate  pump,  326,  341 

Allen,  Benjamin,  M.B.,  216,  238 

All  Hallows  on  the  Wall,  30 

Allport,  Douglas,  historian  of  Camberwell,  209 

Analyses  of  mineral  waters — 

Beulah  Spa,  223 

Biggin  Hill,  Beulah  Hill,  228,  229 

Hampstead  Wells,  152 

Kilburn  Wells  (two),  164 

Streatham  Wells,  236 
Armstrong,  John,  proprietor  of  Pancras  Wells,  81 
Arnold,  F.,  231,  233 

Ashton,  John,  on  the  Fleet  River,  105,  197 
Assembly  Room,  Hampstead,  141 
Assembly  Room  (new),  Hampstead,  147 
Aubrey,  John,  antiquary,  183,  229,  230 
Aye  Brook  or  Eye  Brook,  48 

Bagnigge  House,  65 

Bagnigge  Wells,  65-74 

Bank  of  England,  32,  34 

Banqueting  House,  270 

Barge  Yard,  Bucklersbury,  28,  36 

Barker,  Mr.  Cephas,  proprietor  of  Beulah  Spa  Hydro'  and  Hotel,  227 

Barnet  Wells,  152-155 

Bartholomew  Lane,  Pump  in,  334,  341 

Basinghall  Street,  Parish  pump  of  St.  Michael  Bassishaw  in,  335 

Bateman,  Mrs.,  at  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre,  88 

Battle  Bridge,  65,  74,  75 

Bayswater  Brook,  otherwise  the  Westbourne,  48 

Bayswater  or  Roundhead  Conduit,  282-286 

Bedwell,  Rev.  William,  historian  of  Tottenham,  125 

Beighton,  Henry,  on  London  Bridge  Waterworks,  301,  303 

"  Bell "  Tavern,  Kilburn,  161 

Bell  Yard,  Gracechurch  Street,  Pump  in,  332 

343 


Index 

Bermondsey,  Public  wells  in,  339 

Bermondsey  Spa,  190-193 

Berry,  Mr.  Walter,  Shadwell,  121 

Besant,  Sir  Walter,  43,  124,  181,  247,  262 

Bethlehem  Hospital  (old  site),  30 

Beulah  Spa,  Upper  Norwood,  221-228 

Bevis,  Dr.  John,  68 

Bew's  Corner,  Lordship  Lane,  211 

Biggin  Hill,  Well  at  White  Lodge,  228-229 

Bishopsgate  Street  Without,  Pump  at  St.  Botolph's  Church,  331 

Bishop's  Well,  at  Tottenham,  128 

Black  Mary's  Hole,  67 

Blanch,  W.  H.,  History  of  CamberwcU,  208 

Blemund's  Ditch,  44 

Bliss,  John,  M.R.C.S.,  on  Hampstead  waters,  143 

on  Kilburn  waters,  162 
Blomfield  Street,  30 
Boss  or  Conduit,  253 
Bradford,  Mr.  C.  A.,  on  Ladywell,  199 
Bray,  W.,  214 
Brayley,  E.W.,  183 
Brayley  and  Walford,  209,  234 
Breams  Buildings,  Pump  on  north  side  of,  338 
Brewer,  J.  Norris,  Assembly  House  at  Acton,  157 
Bride  Lane,  60 
Bridewell  Dock,  41 
Bridewell,  Palace  of,  58,  59 
Bruce  Castle,  Tottenham,  128-129 
Budge  Row,  35 

Burbage,  Richard,  Curtein  Theatre,  117 
Burney,  Miss  Fanny,  mentions  Sadler's  Wells,  86 
Burton,  Decimus,  architect,  223 

Byfield,  Dr.  T.,  account  of  mineral  spring  at  Hoxton,  120 
Byron,  Lord,  at  Dulwich,  212 

Camberwell,  207-210 

Campbell,  Thomas,  220 

Cardigan  House,  Richmond,  238,  243 

Chancery  Lane,  Well  in,  338 

Charterhouse,  Water  supply,  263 

Cheapside  in  the  Middle  Ages,  260 

Chigwell,  131,  132 

Christ's  Hospital,  Pump  in,  325 

Churchfield  Well,  Hackney,  123 

Clement's  Inn,  61 

Clement's  Well,  60-65 

Clerks'  Well,  100-105,  337 

Cloak  Lane,  Channel  of  the  Wallbrook,  31 

Cob,  water-carrier  so  called,  273 

Cob's  Court,  Blackfriars,  273 

Coling,  J.  T.,  of  Well's  Cottage,  Upper  Sydenham,  218 

Conduits — 

Aldermanbury,  Conduit  at,  276 

Aldgate,  Conduit  without,  269 

344 


Index 

Conduits  {continued) — 

Bayswater  or  "  Roundhead  "  Conduit,  282-287 

Bishopsgate,  Conduit  at,  269 

Cambridge,  Conduit  at,  280 

Cheapside,  Standard  in,  258,  278 

Cornhill,  The  Standard  in,  whence  distances  were  measured,  276, 
278,  279 

Cornhill,  Tun  in,  262,  263,  278 

Dowgate,  Conduit  at,  278 

Fleet  Street  Conduit,  266 

Gracechurch  Street  Conduit,  261,  276,  278 

Great  Conduit,  Cheapside,  254,  255,  260,  278 

Greenwich  Park  Conduits,  293,  294 

Hyde  Park  Conduit,  292 

Lamb's  Conduit,  271,  272^ 

Little  Conduit,  Cheapside,  256,  278 

London  Wall,  Conduit  at,  269 

Oxford,  Conduit  at,  280 

Queen  Square,  Bloomsbury,  Conduit  in,  290-292 

Stocks  Market,  Little  Conduit  by,  256,  278 

Tyburn  Conduit,  252,  253 

Wells,  Somerset,  Conduit  at,  280 

White  Conduit,  264 
Conduit  Fields  or  Shepherd's  Fields,  Hampstead,  47,  151 
Conduit  of  London,  afterwards  the  Great  Conduit,  254 
Constable,  John,  R.A.,  at  Hampstead,  148 
Cornhill  pump  and  well,  332,  333 
Corporation  or  Guildhall  pump,  334 

Cox,  Francis,  proprietor  of  "The  Green  Man,"  Dulwich,  212,  213 
Cox's  Walk,  214 
Craven  Hill,  49 

Crisp,  Richard,  on  Richmond,  243 
Crosby,  Mr.  Anthony,  on  the  Fleet  River,  46 
Crowder's  Well,  107 
Crutched  Friars,  well  and  pump,  328,  329,  341 
Culpeper,  Nicholas,  215 
Curtain  Road,  119 
Curtein  Theatre,  117 

Curtis  Brothers,  present  proprietors  of  Streatham  Wells,  236,  237 
Cutlers'  Hall,  34 

Davies,  A.  Morley,  250,  285,  288 

Davis,  H.  G.,  on  Knightsbridge,  51 

Davis,  John,  lessee  of  Bagnigge  Wells,  70,  72 

Dean  Street,  Westminster,  well  in,  339 

Death,  Robert,  of  "  The  Falcon,"  186 

Delany,  Mrs.,  on  Islington  Spa,  93 

Dennis,  George,  C.M.G.,  173 

Devol's  Neckinger,  public  house,  189 

Dibdin,  Charles,  87 

Diprose,  John,  62 

Dobie,  Roland,  44 

Dodswell,  George,  proprietor  of  the  "  London  Spaw,"  97 

"Dog  and  Duck"  (St.  George's  Spa),  195-199 

345 


Index 


Domesday  Survey,  40,  43,  90,  122,  125,  131,  155,  207 

Dour,  possible  origin  of  Dow-gate,  30 

Dowgate  Dock  or  Port,  268 

Dowgate  Hill,  32 

Duffield,  John,  at  Hampstead,  141,  142 

Dugdale,  Sir  William,  46,  106,  108,  116,  118,  130,  289 

Dulwich  Grove,  212 

DuLwicH  Wells,  210-214 

Dyers'  Hall,  33 

Eastfield,  William,  Mayor  of  London,  256,  266 

Edge  worth,  Miss  Maria,  on  Bagnigge  Wells,  71 

Effra  River,  i8i-i86 

Eia,  Estate  of,  48 

Eliza  Place,  Islington,  96 

Eloy,  St.,  Well  of,  at  Tottenham,  125-130 

Evance,  Elizabeth,  Sydenham  Wells,  220 

Evance,  William,  Sydenham  Wells,  218 

Evans,  Dr.  John,  on  Richmond,  242 

Evelyn,  John,  90,  196,  204,  208,  214 

Faggeswell  or  Fagswell,  106 

Fairman,  Elizabeth,  Sydenham  Wells,  221 

Fairman,  John,  Sydenham  Wells,  218 

Falcon  Brook,  186 

Fann  Street,  Pump  in,  337,  341 

Farringdon  Road,  45 

Fielding,  James,  lessee  of  Beulah  Spa,  225 

Finsbury,  27,  31 

FitzStephen,  William,  30,  53,  54,  60,  loi,  116 

"  Flask  "  Tavern,  Hampstead,  140 

Flask  Walk,  Hampstead,  140 

Fleet  Bridge,  42,  267 

Fleet  Ditch,  applied  to  lower  part  of  the  Fleet  River,  42 

Fleet  River  (or  Holebourne),  40-46 

Fleet  Street  Conduit  or  Standard,  266 

Fleet  Street,  discoveries  of  old  waterpipes  in,  266 

Fleet  Street,  water  supply,  265 

Forcer,  Francis,  lessee  of  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre,  84 

Forcer,  the  younger,  lessee  of  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre,  85 

Fothergill,  Dr.  John,  on  St.  George's  Spa  water,  196 

Frewen,  Dr.,  of  Chigwell,  132 

Gainsborough,  Earl  of,  139 

Gardner,  C.  W.,  Acton  Wells,  157 

Genibella,  Frederico,  305 

George  HI.,  visit  to  Sydenham  Wells,  219 

Gibbons,  Dr.,  Hampstead  physician,  143 

Glennie's  Academy,  Dulwich  Grove,  212 

Godbid,  W.,  on  Shooter's  Hill  Spring,  203 

Godewelle,  106 

Goodcheape,  Charles,  204 

Goodwin,  Mr.  Thomas,  surgeon,  144 

Gray's  Inn  Lane,  65 

346 


Index 


Great  Dean's  Yard,  Westminster,  Pump  in,  339 

Green,  J.  R.,  historian,  27 

"  Green  Man  "  Tavern  at  Dulwich,  212 

"  Green  Man  "  Tavern  at  Hampstead,  142 

Greenwich  Park,  Conduits,  etc.,  in,  293,  294 

Grey  Friars  Monastery,  water  system,  290 

Grimaldi,  Joseph,  at  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre,  87 

"Grove"  Tavern,  Dulwich,  212 

Guidol,  Dr.  Thomas,  83 

Guildhall  or  Corporation  pump,  334 

Hackney,  Wells  of,  122-125 

Halhed,  John,  proprietor  of  the  "  London  Spaw,"  96 

Hampstead  Assembly  Rooms,  141 

Hampstead  Hill,  geology  of,  137 

Hampstead  Wells,  137-152 

Heckethorn,  C.  W.,  209 

Hedger,  J.,  "  Dog  and  Duck,"  197 

Heisch,  Professor  C,  analysis  of  Hampstead  waters,  150 

Herbert,  William,  191 

Highbury  Barn,  244 

Hockley-in-the-Hole,  41,  104 

Holborn  Bridge,  44 

Holborn  District,  Wells  in  the,  337-338 

HoLEBOURNE  (or  Fleet),  its  course  described,  40-46 

Holland,  John,  proprietor  of  Islington  Spa,  94 

Holt  waters,  82 

Holy  Wells,  53-57 

Holy  Well,  Shoreditch,  115-119 

Holy  Well,  Strand,  62-65 

Hone,  William,  60,  76,  103,  113,  148,  197,  265 

"Horns "Tavern,  80 

"  Horse-at-the-Well"  Inn,  Woodford  Wells,  131 

Horseshoe  Bridge,  over  the  Wallbrook,  35 

Houblon,  Sir  John,  32 

Howard,  John,  proprietor  of  Islington  Spa,  94 

HoxTON,  Mineral  Spring  at,  119 

Hughson,  David,  a  historian  of  London,  32,  61,  113,  204,  314 

Innholders'  Hall,  33 

Ireland,  Mr.,  Lambeth  Wells,  194 

Islington  Spa,  89-96 

Katherine  of  Aragon,  entry  into  London,  261 

Keats,  John,  at  Hampstead,  148 

Keeffe,  P.,  194,  195 

Kemp,  William,  proprietor  of  Peerless  Pool,  112 

Kensington  Wells,  169-171 

Keyse,  Thomas,  Bermondsey  Spa,  191,  192,  193 

Kilburn  Priory,  159,  160 

KiLBURN  Stream,  affluent  of  the  Westbourne,  49 

Kilburn  Wells,  158-164 

King,  Thomas,  Sadler's  Wells  Theatre,  87 

Kit-Kat  Club  at  Hampstead,  146 

347 


Index 

Lady  Well  (Kent),  199-203 
Lamb,  William,  270 
Lambeth  Wells,  193-195 
Langbourne,  Stream,  38 
Langbourne,  Ward  of,  37 
Large,  Robert,  Mayor  of  London,  32,  268 
Lawns,  The  (Beulah  Spa),  227 
Leadenhall  Hides  Market,  Well  and  pump  in,  330 
Leaden  Hall,  Well  and  pump  in,  330 
Lethaby,  W.  R,  29,  33,  39,  43 
Lettsom,  Dr.  John,  of  Camber  well,  209 
Lime  Street,  Pump  in,  331 

Linden,  Dr.  D.  W.,  on  a  mineral  well  in  •*  Sun  "  Tavern  Fields,  122 
Little  Britain,  Pump  in,  336 
Little  Conduit,  by  Stocks  Market,  256 
Little  Conduit,  West  Cheap,  183,  256,  257 
Little  St  Thomas  Apostle  Street,  channel  of  Wallbrook,  31 
Loftie,  Rev.  W.  J.,  29,  68,  170,  171 
London  Basin,  The,  247,  249 
London  Bridge  Waterworks,  299-303 
London  Spa,  96-98 

Lucas,  William,  proprietor  of  St.  Chad's  Well,  78 
Lysons,  Dr.  Daniel,  82, 83, 120, 122, 126,  132,  135,  152,  156,  158,  163,  200, 
208,  214,  232,  233,  283 

Macpherson,  Dr.  John,  on  Acton  Wells,  157 

on  Kilburn  Wells  water,  163 
Maitland,  William,  32,  34,  61,  108,  112,  116,  252,  289, 315 
Malcolm,  J.  P.,  61,  85,  88,  94 
Manning  and  Bray,  20^ 

Martin,  Edward,  proprietor  of  the  "  Horns,"  St.  Pancras,  80 
Martyn,  John,  F.R.S.,  213 
Marybone  Spa,  167 
Marylebone  Lane,  47 
Marylebone  Manor  House,  165 
Marylebone  or  Marybone  Gardens,  165-168 
Matthews,  William,  383,  284,  297 
Miles,  James,  at  Sadler's  Wells,  84 
Milton,  John,  60,  123 
Mineral  Springs,  Analyses  of  water  from,  175 

Ancient,  173 

Comparison  of  British  with  Foreign,  177 

Solid  matter  in,  175 
Miracle  and  Mystery  Plays,  101-103 
Monk  Well,  107 
Monro,  Dr.  Donald,  149,  230 
Montagu,  Lady  Mary  Wortley,  93 
Moore,  Mrs.  R.  M.,  St.  Agnes  le  Clair  Baths,  iii 
Morice,  Peter,  his  engine  described,  301-303 

Water  Works  at  London  Bridge,  299 
Morton,  Dr.,  84 
MuswELL,  132-136 

Myddelton,  Hugh,  307,  309,  310,  314,  316 
Myddelton,  The  Sir  Hugh,  tavern,  89 

348 


Index 

Nash,  Beau,  at  Islington  Spa,  93 

National  Safe  Deposit  Company,  excavations  on  site  of  their  premises, 

34.  35 
Neckinger  stream,  186-189 
New  River,  307-311 
New  River  Company,  Incorporation  of,  31 1-3 18 

Shares,  "  King's"  and  "Adventurers',"  314 
New  Spa,  at  Hampstead,  144 
New  Tunbridge  Wells,  see  Islington  Spa,  91 
New  Wells,  Islington,  98-100 
Noel,  Honourable  Susannah,  96,  139,  150 
Norman,  Philip,  30,  95,  105,  290,  291,  292 
Northampton,  Earl  of,  104 
NoRTHAW  or  Northall,  155 
Norton  Folgate,  Well  in,  326 

Old  Bourne,  supposed  stream,  43 

"  Old  Dog  "  Tavern,  Holywell  Street,  62 

Old  Kent  Road,  discovery  of  chalybeate  water  here  in  1906,  210 

Pagents  recorded  in  the  fifteenth  century,  259 

Palewell  Common,  East  Sheen,  Well  at,  244 

Palmer,  Samuel,  46,  67,  80 

Pancras  Wells,  79-  82 

Park,  J.  J.,  139,  164 

Payne,  Mr.,  proprietor  of  St.  Agnes  le  Clair  Baths,  no 

Peerless  Pool,  112-114 

Pennant,  T.,  43,  61, 113 

Pepys,  Samuel,  79,  96,  153,  166 

Peter,  John,  physician,  215 

Phelps,  Samuel,  at  Sadler's  Wells,  87 

Pig's  Well,  or  Pyke  Well,  Hackney,  123 

Pinks,  W.  J.,  historian  of  Clerkenwell,  67,  83,  86,  89,  98 

Pond,  or  Pound  Street,  Hampstead,  144 

Population  of  London,  251,  252 

Postern  Waters  on  Tower  Hill,  122 

Potter,  G.  W.,  45,  145,  151 

Powis  Wells,  168-169 

Prestwich,  Sir  Joseph,  251 

Price,  F.  G.  Hilton,  30 

Price,  J.  E.,  28,  34 

Pugh,  David,  LL.D.  ("  David  Hughson  "),  see  Hughson,  David 

Purging  Wells,  at  Shooter's  Hill,  204 

Pyke  Well  or  Pig's  Well,  Hackney,  123 

Queen  Square,  Bloomsbury,  ancient  conduit-head,  290 
Quill,  small  water-pipe,  274 

Radwell,  synonyms.  Rode  Well,fRede  Well,  etc.,  107 

Ray  Street,  Clerkenwell,  105 

Reader,  Francis  W.,  27,  30,  296 

Rhone,  Jonathan,  attendant  at  St.  Chad's  Well,  77 

Richmond  Wells,  238-244 

Rippin,  Dorothy,  Hampstead,  139 

349 


Index 

River  of  Wells,  29 

Roberts,  Alexander,  Sydenham  Wells,  218 

Robins,  W.,  on  the  names  Tybourne  and  Westbourne,  51 

Robinson,  Dr.  William,  historian  of  Hackney,  123 

historian  of  Tottenham,  127 
Rocque,  J.,  plan  of  London,  49,  50,  51,  67,  133,  144,  158,  170,  183,  222 
Rode  Well  or  Rede  Well,  107 
Roman  Wall  of  London,  30 
Rookery,  The,  Streatham  (Old)  Wells,  231 
Rosebery  Avenue,  96 
Rosoman,  acting  at  the  New  Wells,  Islington,  99 

rebuilt  Sadler's  Music  House,  86 
Roundhead  or  Bayswater  Conduit,  282-287 
Royal  Exchange,  Drinking  fountain,  334 
Russia  Row,  Well  and  pump  in,  335 
Rutton,  W.  L.,  on  the  Serpentine,  50 
Rutty,  Dr.  John,  155,  230,  232 
Ryan,  Mr.,  at  St.  Chad's  Well,  77 

Sadler,  Mr.,  music-house,  82 
Sadler's  Wells,  82-89 
St.  Agnes  le  Clair,  108-112 
St.  Agnes'  Well  at  Kensington,  171 
St.  Anne,  Hermitage  and  Chapel  of,  at  Tottenham,  126 
St.  Antholin's  Church  (Watling  Street),  Pump  near,  325 
St.  Bride's  Well,  58-60 
St.  Chad's  Well,  74-79 

St.  Clement  Danes,  Public  wells  in  the  parish  of,  338 
St.  Clement's  Well,  60-65 

St.  Dunstan's-in-the-East,  Pump  in  churchyard,  330 
St.  Dunstan's  Well,  Tottenham,  128 
St.  Eloy,  or  St.  Loy,  Tottenham,  125-127 
St.  George's  Spa  ("  Dog  and  Duck  "),  195-199 
St.  George  the  Martyr,  Southwark,  Wells  in  the  parish  of,  339 
St.  Govor's  Well,  171 
St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  Priory  of,  100,  124,  133 
St.  John  the  Baptist  upon  Wallbrook,  33 
St.  Margaret's,  Lothbury,  32 
St.  Martin's  Outwich,  Pump  at,  325,  331 

St.  Mary-le-Bow,  Cheapside,  Pump  and  drinking  fountain  in  church- 
yard, 335-336 
St.  Mary's  Nunnery,  Clerkenwell,  104 
St.  Michael  ad  Bladum,  256 
St.  Mildred's  Poultry,  33,  34 
St.  Olave,  Jewry,  Pump  against  the  church  of,  335 
St.  Pancras  Well,  79-82 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral,  Pump  in  churchyard,  325 
St.  Saviour's  Dock,  186 
St.  Stephen's,  Walbrook,  33 
Saint  Thomas's  Street,  Well  in,  339 
Sala,  G.  A.,  on  a  well  in  Holy  Well  Street,  Strand,  63 
Salter,  Mr.,  Proprietor  of  St.  Chad's  Well,  78 
Sanford,  Gilbert  de,  252 
Savoy,  Well  and  pump  in  precinct  of,  338 


Index 

Schmeisser,  Godfrey,  analysis  of  Kilburn  water,  162 

Serpentine,  The,  49 

Shacklewell,  123 

Shadwell,  120-122 

Share-borne  Lane  (Sherborne  Lane),  38 

Share-bourne  Stream,  38 

Sheen,  East,  Well  at,  244 

Shepherd's  Well,  Hampstead,  151 

Shepherd's  or  Conduit  Fields,  Hampstead,  47,  151 

Shooter's  Hill,  mineral  spring,  203-206 

Shoreditch,  Holy  well  at,  115-119 

Shoreditch,  Pump  in  High  Street,  326 

Siddons,  William,  Proprietor  of  Sadler's  Wells,  87 

Sinclair,  Dr.  A.  D.,  on  waters  of  St.  Chad's  Well,  77 

Sion  Chapel,  Hampstead,  142 

Skinners'  Company,  33 

Skinners'  Well,  106-107 

Smith,  Charles  Roach,  on  a  subterranean  aqueduct  at  Moorfields,  31 

Smith,  J.  D..  projector  of  the  Beulah  Spa,  222,  226 

Smith,  J.  T.,  192 

Soame,  Dr.  John,  143,  149 

Spa  Fields,  96 

Spotton's  Wood,  Tottenham,  Well  in,  128 

Stage  or  Landing  Place  of  the  Wallbrook,  35,  36 

Standard  in  Cornhill,  258 

Standard  in  Fleet  Street,  266 

Stevenson,  W.  H.,  Charter  to  St.  Martin's-le-Grand,  from  William  I., 

28,43 
Stocks  Market,  34 

Stocks,  Mr.,  Manager  of  Bagnigge  Wells,  73 
Stow,  John,  29,  32,  38,  39,  40,  43,  44,  53,  59,  61,  65,  100,  102,  103,  105, 

106,  io8,  109,  117,  251,  252,  253,  255,  256, 262,  266,  267,  270,  281,  299, 

300,305,311,330,331,337 
Strand,  Holy  well  in  the,  62-64 
Stratford  Place,  Oxford  Street,  47,  270 
Streatham  Wells,  229-237 
Strype,  John,  the  historian,  104,  106,  123,  258,  259,  289,  325,  326,  329, 

336 
Subterranean  Aqueducts  in  Greenwich  Park,  294 
"  Sun  "  Tavern  Fields,  Mineral  waters  at,  121 
Sweetland,  W.,  on  Langbourne  Ward,  37 
Sydenham  Wells,  214-221 

Tallow  Chandlers'  Hall,  33 

Tankard,  term  explained,  273 

Thermal  Waters,  their  temperature,  173-175 

Thorne,  J.,  154 

Thorney  Island,  Westminster,  47 

Timbs,  John,  62 

Tite,  Sir  William,  on  the  Wallbrook,  27,  38 

ToDWELL  (=  Godewell),  106 

Tokenhouse  Yard,  remains  of  tan-pits  on  banks  of  Wallbrook,  28 

Tomlins,  T.  E.,  historian  of  Islington,  65,  74,  265 

Tottenham,  Springs  at,  125-130 

351 


Index 

Tower  Gardens,  Well  and  pump  in,  329 

Tower  Royal  (Street),  Channel  of  Wallbrook,  31 

Tun  (or  Tonne)  upon  Cornhill,  262 

Turnmill  Brook,  42 

Turnmill  Street,  42 

Ty-bourne  Brook,  course  described,  47 

Tyburn  Conduit,  252 

Tyne,  term  explained,  273 

"Upper  Flask"  Tavern,  Hampstead,  146 

Vincent,  W.  T.,  on  Shooter's  Hill  mineral  Spring,  204 
"Vine"  Tavern  Fields,  121 

Wakefield,  Miss  Priscilla,  210,  234 

Walebroc,  27 

Walford,  Edward,  50,  80,  99,  131,  160,  161,  163,  205,  209,  262,  284, 

285,  294 
Wallbrook  Stream,  25-37 
Waller,  J.  G.,  40,  45,  46,  48 
Ward,  Edward  (Ned),  85,  92 
Waterbearers,  Company  of,  275 
Waterbearers'  Hall,  277 

"  Waterman's  Arms  "  Tavern,  Bermondsey,  190 
Watts,  Joseph,  lessee  of  Peerless  Pool  Baths,  113 
Weatherhead,  Dr.  G.  H.,  222 
Wellclose  Square,  Pump  in,  325 
Well  House,  Streatham  Common,  231 
Wells  Charity  Estate,  Hampstead,  140 
Wells,  Flower-dressing  of,  56 
"Wells"  Tavern,  Hampstead,  142 
Well  Walk  Chapel,  Hampstead,  145 
Well  Walk,  Hampstead,  141,  148,  149,  150 
Well  Worship,  55  .^^ 

Westbourne  Stream,  48  '  ** 

Whitechapel  district,  public  wells  in,  325 
White  Conduit,  264,  265,  292 
White  Conduit  House,  73,  263 
White  Horse  Estate,  225 
Wilkinson,  R.,  88,  89,  104,  257,  258,  278 

William  the  Conqueror,  charter  of,  to  St.  Martin's-le-Grand,  28 
Wooden  water-pipes,  295-299 
Wooden  water-pipes  at  Clerkenwell,  296 
Woodford  Wells,  130-131 
Wren,  Sir  C,  295,  312 
Wroth,  W.,  78,  80,  95,  98,  113,  139,  160,  198,  226 

Yeates  or  Yates,  Mr.,  proprietor  of  the  New  Wells,  100 
"  Ye  Olde  Bagnigge  Wells,"  public  house,  74 
Young,  William,  217 


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